I'll Follow You into the Dark
by Lunar Kitty
Summary: This is the story of how Kuchiki Byakuya met a girl named Hisana, and how the two of them subsequently fell in love. Please read and review : Rated M for some content in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I'll Follow You into the Dark

How Hisana met Byakuya, and subsequently fell in love. I would like to include a mini-author's note right here 

I wrote this story on a whim, because I felt like there wasn't enough back story on one of the greatest OTP's in Bleach. This story is complete, and I will post it chapter by chapter. Each chapter tends to have a song lyric title, or is based on, so I'll have a suggested listening posted for each chapter. Please read and review, I've enjoyed writing this story so much that I am writing another Byakuya x Hisana as we speak. However I've found that unless I write a complete story, it never gets done. This story is over fifty pages long  and it's about 23 Chapters long, so this is only the beginning.

Enjoy! – Kristen

If heaven and hell decide  
That they both are satisfied  
Illuminate the "no's" on their vacancy signs  
If there's no one beside you, when your soul embarks  
I'll follow you into the dark

((Suggested Listening: I'll Follow You into the Dark, Death Cab for Cutie))

Chapter One: Little Match Girl

It was a cold day in the Rukongai, Hisana thought, her dark hair falling into her face as she tried to carry the heavy parcel that her employer had given her. Touting it around on her shoulders was hard enough, but with her cough, she couldn't seem to muster the strength to keep moving.

Sighing she pulled her shawl around her, trying to hide herself from the biting cold that stung her cheeks and bare feet. Her last pair of sandals had given out, despite the fact that she tried not to wear them on the warmest days, and she was left with nothing but spare rags from the alley ways to keep her feet dry.

Frowning, she looked at her delivery slip as she came towards the great gates that surrounded the homes of the 13 Gotei. It was hard to believe that the standards of life varied so greatly in Soul Society. At least in the Real World, before death, before soul burial, there had been some sense of equality amongst the people who lived there.

But here…there was a stark divide between those who lived inside those white walls, and those who lived on the outsides, where filth ran in the streets. Even the nicest of the neighborhoods were disturbingly violent. The dog eat dog mentality had caused her to lose a small portion of her sanity, her dreams, her hopes, everything she had ever wished for had been lost when she and her sister had been in that accident in the real world.

People said that death was only the beginning. She almost wondered what hell was like if this was supposed to be the world where those who had lived their lives well got to spend the rest of their eternity. Stumbling, she fell into a mud puddle and tore her ragged kimono, cursing at the snow falling from the sky and the mixed rain that fell with it. The package was okay, albeit a little dirty, but she could imagine what her employer would have to say when he heard from his client.

She frowned as she looked at the unfamiliar, paved, porcelain white streets of the beautiful city before her and walked towards the gates, her bare feet dragging painfully. The shinigami guards standing at the doorway stood at attention as she approached, her knee bleeding from her fall, her whole soul bone weary.

"Excuse me…sir" she said, her hands shaking as she lifted the package from her back. "I have a delivery for a…Mayuri-sama."

"Captain Mayuri?" the Soul Reaper asked, his face questionable. "Who is this package from girl, speak up!"

"It's from Master Dillimund, in the city, sir." She replied, her voice shaking.

"Very well then, we'll scan it and send it on, be on your way Rukongai scum!" the guard shouted, his swords hilt lashing out and hitting her in the back as she turned away. Gasping, she fell to the ground, her body heaving as she was seized by a violent cough.

Blood dripped from her mouth as her vision swayed. She didn't even feel the bite of the cold snow as she lay there. A shout from behind her wasn't enough to make her eyes open again…she would much rather, if they just stayed closed.

The last thing she saw before she drifted into unconscious-ness was a pair of sandaled feet, white socks and the billowing legs of black Shinigami robes. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: I'm With You

A/N: So chapter two, if you're coming back for more, I hope you like it! Suggested listening for this chapter is "I'm With You" by Avril Lavigne. This story will pick up quickly, the first few chapters are just a character introduction/set-up. Please keep reading and reviewing!

Hisana groaned wearily and coughed, her chest seizing in spasms when she awoke, her eyes almost swollen shut from the amount of time she had been asleep. A white ceiling stared back at her, her head was placed gently on a pillow, and she was propped up on a futon worthy of a king. Sitting up quickly, she startled herself with how dizzy she became, her head reeling. Suddenly nauseated, she vomited on the tatami mat floor next to her, her long black hair falling into her face.

Just as she was about to retch again, a cool pair of hands pulled her hair back. She stopped in mid-vomit, her throat choking on the bile she held back. A soft hand rubbed her back, and a man's voice whispered, "It's alright, don't worry about the floors."

Throwing up again, Hisana coughed out a quiet, "Thank you" and scooted away from the mess she made. The hands pulled her hair back with a band, and she turned to face her helper. A startling pair of blue eyes stared back at her, and long silver hair that fell to the waist of his robes was pulled back into a stylish pony tail.

"Hello there!" he said with a smile. "My name is Ukitake Jyuushirou, I am captain of the 13th squadron of Shinigami here in Soul Society."

"A…a CAPTAIN?!" she shrieked, jumping backwards. Out of all the stories about Soul Reapers she had heard, those about the captains were the worst. The inhabitants of Rukongai painted a brutal picture of the thirteen heads. She had always pictured them with dark silhouettes and flaming eyes in her nightmares as they devoured the unrighteous and unworthy wandering souls that inhabited the villages around the otherworld. 

She backed into the wall, eyes wide and breathing hard. "I don't understand" she stammered, "Why did you help me?"

"Because it looked like you were having a hard time." Ukitake said with a smile as he sat down on the floor next to her. "Kaien, would you bring us something to eat and something to clean up the mess please?" Ukitake asked pleasantly.

A handsome man appeared from the next room, his dark ruffled hair falling into his eyes. He had taken off the outer shinigami robe and was wearing a tight tank top with his pants. His soul slayer lay gently in a hilt at his side. He was well muscled, a smiling soul reaper.  
"Of course Captain!" he said with a smile. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, that will be all. Please tell the squad that our meeting will be postponed until tomorrow."

"Of course Captain Ukitake." He replied, and left the room as quickly as he had came.

"Now, for some introductions" Ukitake said with a smile. "I have told you my name, but I have not heard yours, or your story!" he replied.

Hisana stared him directly in the face and looked at his eyes. They were kind, with laugh wrinkles around the corners. Although he was young in the face, she knew he must be much older than many of the other shinigami in the court. The eyes looked back at her and smiled, just like the mouth of the owner they inhabited. This man was a good man. She could trust him.

Sitting back down in her futon, Hisana fumbled with the sheets as she lay back down at the bidding of the Captain, and began her story. "My name is Hisana" she said, looking at him as he sat cross legged next to her. "I don't know my last name, but I came to Soul Society about two years ago."

He nodded at her as Kaien brought them a tray of tea and another soul reaper came in to mop up the mess she had made. She drank the liquid and sighed in delight. It was delicious, and soothed her raw throat. "My…sister was with me at the time. She was a baby. We were walking home from school, when we were in a terrible accident."

Ukitake gently added sugar to his tea as she continued, and took another sip. "I didn't realize life here would be so hard, you know. I abandoned my sister…at an orphanage in the Rukongai. I couldn't afford to keep her. She cried all the time, I was starving to death, she was starving to death. The woman who ran it was a poor soul who had lost all of her children in a school fire…she was collecting the lost souls of children to try and find the ones that she lost." 

Ukitake looked grim, and turned his face from her, making a slight "tsk" noise in his teeth. "It's a shame…" he whispered, his hand shaking as he set his tea down slightly.

"I got a job with a delivery company, but about a year afterwards, in the fall, I got this cough. I haven't been able to shake it sense, it's like it clings to me, like some sort of dark spirit just hovering around. I can't even breathe sometimes" she said, smiling at him, "But I was able to eat, and I told myself that one day I'd go back for Rukia, I'd bring her to a home, when I could afford one, and give her what I couldn't give her before, I'd be the big sister she needed."

"I'm so sorry for what has happened to you." Ukitake murmured. "It is hard for the Captains sometimes to realize the suffering that goes on outside the court of the Gotei 13."

"I know you are all busy protecting us from hollows and things like that." Hisana cut in suddenly, "But a little help wouldn't hurt from time to time."

A knock on the screen suddenly brought Ukitake to his feet. He went and opened it, and a spiky haired looking man appeared in the doorway. 

"Ukitake" he nodded and bowed to him as Ukitake allowed him in.

"Hisana, may I introduce the Captain of the 11th Squadron, Zaraki Kenpachi?"

"Pleased to meet you!" Hisana exclaimed, prostrating herself into a low bow on the floor. 

Kenpachi stomped in, dropping an unsheathed soul slayer into the floor while Ukitake winced behind him at the thunk of metal against wood. "You, girl!" he said, and she looked up.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he said, his scarred face and spiked up hair making him look even more menacing. "Those brutes that beat you up were in my squadron. Don't worry, they've been properly admonished." Just as quickly as he came Kenpachi got up and left, leaving a startled Hisana in his wake. A tiny girl with pink hair poked him in the back where she sat perched and whispered something in his ear as he turned to go.

"Oh, and this is Yachiiru, she's my lieutenant." He grumbled.

"Please to meet you!!" Yachiiru squealed, waving as Kenpachi left. "Ken-chan and I will visit again soon!"

Hisana stared at them as they left, the look on her face perplexed as Ukitake collapsed into a fit of giggles next to her, his hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry, I should've told you he was coming by, but I didn't get his message from the butterfly he sent until a few moments ago."

"Butterflies?" Hisana asked, her head cocked to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Hell butterflies," Ukitake explained as one of the delicate dark winged creatures landed on his finger, "carry messages for us from different areas of the court. The elders sometimes send them, and they will take messages from captain to captain."

"Ah, so they're like a mail carrier, or something of that sort." Hisana said, nodding as she took a wafer from the tray and ate it ravenously.

"Yes, and much more efficient, there is little paper expenditure this way, and trust me, with all the crazy things that tend to go on here, there's quite a bit of paper piling up all the time." Ukitake said, reaching for a wafer himself. "So how old are you, Hisana?"

"I think I'm about…18? Or I would be 18" Hisana laughed, her smile changing her entire demeanor.

Ukitake smiled back, his eyes glancing at her frail form. It was obvious the girl was sick, and he made a mental note to send Unohana a message to have her send one of her squad to come examine her and make her a remedy. "Hisana" Ukitake asked, "Would you care for a bath?"

"That would be lovely!" Hisana said excitedly. "I haven't had a proper bath…in over a year, I think."

"That sounds fantastic. I'll send Kiyone out to get you a robe, and then escort you down there. Does that sound okay to you?"

"Of course" Hisana whispered, and finished her tea.

She sat inside the futon, enjoying the warmth of the room and the blankets as Ukitake left her with the steaming tea pot, so she poured herself some more, enjoying how the warm china cup felt in her cold, pale hands. The room she was in was truly a luxurious one. A western style bed was in the corner, underneath a window, next to a desk littered with ink blots and pens, and parchment paper. Beautiful screens adorned with cut out shapes of trees and flowers hid a dressing area away from the rest of the room, where several robes of various kinds lay hanging in a wardrobe. The large window was a stand out feature in the room, its light brightening the already warm room with sunlight as it filtered through the glass and the screen doors around it.

A fire crackled merrily in the hearth, and several practice swords were adorned along the walls. A spare captain's cloak hung on the chair next to the desk, its edges worn and frayed. She pulled the covers with her as she stepped onto the warm floors, the white linen shift she was dressed in flowing weakly around her thin frame.

A rap on the screen startled her, and she turned to see a pretty blonde soul reaper bringing her a beautiful kimono and soft white linen towel.

"Hello!" the girl said brightly, "My name is Kiyone, Captain Ukitake sent me in to take care of you!" she bubbled.

"Thank you" Hisana whispered, almost crying as she was handed the beautiful fabric that was pooled in Kiyone's hands. Kiyone pulled her behind the screen and stood guard as Hisana handed her the shift and took the kimono from her.

A call from the next room caused Kiyone to look up. She turned to Hisana and asked, "If you don't mind, I'm going to have to run into the next room, it sounds like Lieutenant Kaien is getting himself in trouble." She laughed.

"That's fine." Hisana replied, and busied herself fixing the under part of the kimono. After about five minutes of fighting with the cumbersome garment, she dropped it in frustration as the door opened again. Stepping out from behind the curtain without looking, the fabric barely covering her important parts as it gaped open, she said "Kiyone, would you help me fix thi…." Her voice died in her throat as she pulled the garment tighter.

There, standing in the doorway, was someone who was definitely not Kiyone, and definitely not Kenpachi or Kaien or Ukitake. Alarmed, she blushed as Ukitake ran down the hallway and skidded into the doorway. Ukitake blushed at Hisana's state of undress, and turned to the stoic man beside him.

"Hisana", he coughed, trying not to stare, "May I introduce Captain Kuchiki Byakuya from Squad 6?"


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you Jeon for my review :D I'm glad you like it so far, so here's chapter three for you :D I tried to keep Byakuya as "In character" as possible throughout this story. Please continue reading :D_

_Suggested listening for Chapter III: Is a "Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Walt Disney's Cinderella, but I prefer the version by Kimberly Locke for Disneymania Volume III – so pretty, and well worth the download or listen on if you don't already have it. _

**Chapter 3: A Dream, Is a Wish Your Heart Makes**

"P..pleased to meet you!" Hisana said, bowing, her hair falling around her chest and exposing her pale, unclothed and bruised upper back to the gentlemen before her.

"And you, as well" Byakuya murmured, his face carrying a slight blush as Kiyone, bowing to both captains, ran to usher Hisana back behind the screen. Ukitake barely noticed Byakuya staring at her silhouette as Hisana helped fix the kimono around her and pull her hair up.

"Alrighty!" Kiyone said, laughing, "You're all done now." She leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, Byakushi won't bite – he may seem like a tight ass, but I went to academy with him!" Giggling, she dashed out from behind the curtains as Hisana stepped gingerly out behind her.

An appreciative Ukitake clapped and smiled as Hisana stepped out in the elegant pale pink kimono Kiyone had brought from the store room. Her long black hair was pulled into a gentle bun, and stray wisps of hair fell around her face. Byakuya's spirit energy flared suddenly, causing Ukitake to jump.

"May I escort you to the baths, Ms. Hisana?" the 6th squad captain asked, his eyes slightly turned to the side to glance at Ukitake.

"O..of course" Hisana replied, staring at Ukitake for guidance. He nodded at her, and she followed demurely behind the tall man, his long black hair and silver hair pieces, signs of nobility, flowing in the slight draft from the hallway.

They padded silently down the wooden floors of an open walkway, and she shivered in the cool air wafting through the area. It was still snowing, and a frozen pond with resting koi at the bottom of it looked like something out of a dream. Her breath came out in puffs of white as she rubbed her hands together, coughing slightly.

Byakuya turned his head and took a glance at her, watching her tiny body shiver in the cold. Shaking his head, he stopped, and she, not paying attention, ran right into him.

"I'm so sorry!" Hisana practically shouted, bowing deeply at the waist and backing away from him.

Suddenly, something fell on her, and she was startled to see the white robes of the captain adorning her frail, shaking form. She was further startled when the stoic captain before her knelt down and tied the robe around her firmly, then picked her up and held her in his arms.

"Cap…captain?" she asked, her face blushing at the nearness of the handsome man.

"You were cold", he replied, matter of factly. He carried her all the way to the bathhouse, around twists and turns, and multiple corners, until they reached a large steaming room devoid of life.

"This is the bathhouse of the Captains" Byakuya murmured as he set her down. "You will find no troubles or hurts here."

"Th…thank you." Hisana whispered.

As quick as he put her down, the Captain disappeared in one step, leaving her alone in the echoing room full of the sounds of dripping water. Glancing in different directions, she untied her obi and pulled the kimono from her body, hanging it on a hook as she pulled the white shift off of herself as well. Little did she know, the eyes of a certain captain were still watching her as she slid inch by inch of her pale as snow skin into the steaming water.

* * *

_**Second Verse (Just cuz I felt like adding it in here **_

_**A dream is a wish your heart makes**_

_**When you're feeling small**_

_**Alone in the night you whisper**_

_**Thinking no one can hear you at all**_

_**You wait with the morning sunlight**_

_**To find fortune that is smiling on you**_

_**Don't let your heart be filled with sorrow**_

_**For all you know tomorrow, the dream that you wish**_

_**Will come true**_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: This chapter is titled after a movie series that comes on the Hallmark channel (Love Comes Softly, Love's Enduring Promise, Love's Long Journey) they are a fantastic film series if you haven't seen them. I cried my eyes out in all of them . _

_Even thought there is no appearance by Byakuya in this chappie (he's coming back soon!) the suggested listening is: "Sorry for Love" by Celine Dion from her album "A New Day Has Come"_

_P.S. Thanks Juud for the favorite:-) Don't worry, there are twenty-three chapters, so there's plenty more to read :-)_

**Chapter 4: Love Comes Softly**

Hisana sighed in relief as the hot water of the baths soaked into her bones, her hair curling limply as she enjoyed the smell of the mineral salts in the bath. Her bruises and scrapes from her many falls and the beatings she had received as a courier for Master Dillimund were soothed by the gentle waters, and the heat felt like it warmed her very soul.

She laughed to herself as she swam out into the deeper portion of the waters, floating underneath a black ceiling dotted with sparkling stones made to mimic the stars above. She noticed that there were actual constellations dangling there, but they were foreign, and not the stars of the living world.

In the center of the baths a pavilion was set, waterfalls gently trickling over the center as bubbling jets swirled the water around it in a gentle whirlpool. Different colored lights changed the waters tint as she swam into them delightedly, watching as her skin changed from red, to orange, to blue, to green in moments. Feeling contentedly dizzy from the heat and her motions, she scrambled out onto the pavilion, grabbing a towel hanging from the racks and collapsed onto a padded bench, smiling.

How was it that she could have gone from being an urchin in the streets to being the guest of one of the most powerful men in the whole of Soul Society? It was almost like a fairy tale, she thought, one hand resting on her chest while the other dangled in the water trickling from an invisible fountain into the baths.

The sudden scraping of one of the doors from the outside caused her to sit up in alarm. A shadowed figure stalked into the baths, and ducking behind the large column in the center of the pavilion, she stared as the captain she had met before, Zaraki Kenpachi disrobed in the bathing center. Giggling beside him was the pink haired girl, Yachiiru, who disrobed faster than her eyes could follow and cannon-balled into the hot steaming water.

"Ken-chan, Ken-chan!" she laughed, "Get in, get in!"

The angry looking Soul Reaper rolled his eyes and unwound his stiffly spiked hair, letting it drape around his shoulders as, eye-patch and all, he stepped into the water, a towel around his waist barely leaving anything to the imagination as his scarred body slid into the water with a sigh of relief.

"Ken-chan! Somebody else is in here!" Yachiiru giggled, her eyes searching the room. "Don't you feel their reiatsu?"

"For the last time, Yachiiru" Kenpachi laughed, "I've never been able to tell one reiatsu from another. I could if I tried, but unless they want to fight, I really don't give a damn about trying."

Yachiiru looked around the room and spotted Hisana hiding behind the column, and sprang naked from the water as Kenpachi turned his face away. She jumped onto the pavilion in a blur and grabbed Hisana by the hand.

"Look Ken-chan! It's Hisa-chan!!" she squealed, tugging Hisana's arm forcefully and making her come out from behind the column.

Kenpachi nodded to her and let out a single, "Yo" then laid his head back against the wooden floor behind him again.

Hisana bowed to the captain and said "Thank you for allowing me to use the baths, sir."

"Bah, they're not my baths" Kenpachi said, "I suppose Ukitake told you to come here? He would do something like that." He held up one of his hands and looked at it with the sky ceiling behind. "I guess there's no harm, and it's not like it's really indecent to share a bath, you know? Yachiiru is here."

Blushing at the fact that sharing a bath with a man was indeed indecent, Hisana was tugged back into the water with Yachiiru, who began to splash her. Abandoning her attempts to stay modest, Hisana laughed and splashed her back, only to be met with a tidal wave from the side of the pool.

Yachiiru and Hisana turned, both soaking wet to see Kenpachi laughing whole-heartedly as he waved his wet arm in the air. "Couldn't resist, you know?" he replied, as Yachiiru launched herself across the pool and pounded her little fists into his arm.

"Ken-chan! I wasn't trying to get my hair all weeeettt!" she whined.

"Ah, shut it Yachiiru, I'll dry your hair for you later." He laughed as the little girl situated herself under his arm with a squeal of happiness. Turning to Hisana, he cocked his scarred face to the side and asked, "So, what is your story little lady?"

Hisana, blushing, sat on the bench a few yards down from the scary looking Captain, her eyes staring at the water. "I'm from the Rukongai…I was coming here to deliver a package when I collapsed."

"Bah, those assholes in my squad…" he grunted, "Squad 11 is known for having the most powerful and un-relentless fighters in all of Soul Society, but I must admit, some of the lower, unranked members are really nothing but bullies."

"It's nothing I hadn't encountered before" Hisana murmured, her eyes looking to the bruises and old scars on her arms, "Life has always been hard here."

"I know what you mean." Kenpachi grunted, "I was a roaming warrior when I first arrived and won my sword from the previous captain of Squad 11."

"What happened to the previous captain?" Hisana asked, watching the droplets of water from her fingers make ripples in the still edge of the pool.

"I killed him." Kenpachi said, his eyes looking to the side. "There is nothing I love more in this world than a good fight."

Hisana watched as the large man gently ran his hands through the now dozing Yachiiru's damp hair, his scarred and rough fingers holding each strand gently.

"There's nothing that you love more?" Hisana asked, her eyes observing this strange devotion to the small girl next to him.

"Nothing…" he whispered, the pause in his voice leave a hint of something else in the air.

The conversation lapsed into silence then, and the odd trio sat still, watching the starry ceiling as if the sky was to cave in at any moment.

_Cuz with you I've lived a thousand lives in one_

_I could never be, I could never be_

_Sorry for love_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you sooo much everyone who has favorited/reviewed my story! I'm very pleased with how this is going:D Here is chapter five just for you!_

_Thanks to Acid Burn Blush, Nemoxgirl, and Draycos for the favs! _

_Suggested listening: "Crashed" by Daughtry – this song to me would be from Byakuya's POV. _

Chapter V: Dancing in the Dark

Hisana thanked Captain Zaraki for escorting her back to Ukitake's pavilion profusely, smiling the entire time as Yachiiru swung from both of their arms. Kenpachi even offered to come by in the next few days with an ointment for her bruises that would make them go away quickly, and she said that she'd appreciate it greatly.

Ukitake had greeted her with a fantastic dinner. A delicious soup stuffed with vegetables and wafting a delicious beefy fragrance into the air was the first course, followed by a delicious selection of stir fry pieces shared with Kaien and his wife Miyoko, and another Captain named Kyouraku Shunsui and his Lieutenant Nanao. They all had a fantastic time, and Hisana couldn't remember a time that she'd had more fun with people she hardly new. Shunsui insisted that she call him by his first name, and produced flowers out of thin air for her tied with a piece of purple ribbon. At the disapproving glare from his Lieutenant, he produced an even bigger bouquet for her, saying that Nanao shouldn't be jealous, because he loved her the most.

Ukitake laughed heartily and Kaien, not to be outdone, tried to produce some flowers himself for Miyoko, and failed miserably when instead a very disgruntled looking hedgehog had appeared out of nowhere instead. Miyoko had laughed even harder then, and squirted tea out of her nose, much to everyone around the table's delight.

After dinner, they had played a game of charades, and Hisana had laughed until she had cried, coughing intermittently, but not as hard as before. She suspected that Ukitake had been slipping some sort of medicine in her drink when she had her back turned, because she had become exceedingly tired with each round, until she had almost fallen asleep at the table.  
Shunsui had laughed and hoisted her up in his arms, much to Nanao's exasperation, and asked Ukitake where he would like him to lay down the "little princess". Ukitake had smiled and taken her from Shunsui's arms, mentioning something about his "womanizing ways" and had had Miyoko open the screens for him to carry her to a separate section of the pavilion.

Ukitake had provided for her as if she was going to live there for the rest of her life. She had her own room, and a platform bed with a cushy futon on top of it, along with a pile of colorful kimonos and her own set of black Shinigami robes and a practice Zanpakutou ("Just in case", Ukitake had added with a smile.) A set of toiletries adorned an additional low table, along with writing utensils and several books that looked like they'd been brought back from the Living World.

Smiling, she had wiped a tear of happiness from her face and had crawled under the covers and collapsed as soon as Ukitake dropped her there, wafting off into dreamland before she could even think to send up a silent prayer for her sister's wellbeing.

The next morning, bright sunlight filtered in through a large stained glass window above her head, coloring her dark hair that fell to her waist. It was early still, but she felt more rested than she had felt in a long time. Sitting up, she yawned and stretched, feeling bruised and sore muscles stretch out for the first time in weeks, and winced in pain.

A knock on her screen door caused her to look up sharply, and she hustled to throw on the dressing gown laid out for her, along with a steaming pitcher of hot water to wash her face in. "Come in!" she called.

Ukitake's face popped in with a grin as the screen slid back, followed by a beautiful woman with long dark hair. "Hisana, may I have the pleasure of introducing Captain Unohana from Squad 4? She's here to examine your cough and your injuries."

"Oh…of course, please, come in!" Hisana stammered. She couldn't quite understand how she, of all people was getting to meet all of these more important persons. She was practically a Ryoka, and yet these people were throwing themselves at her feet to assist her.

"Ms. Hisana, if you don't mind, I'd like you to remove your dressing gown so I can see the worst of the damage." Unohana had said with a beautiful soft smile as Ukitake had left the room.

After running her hands down Hisana's bruised and beaten limbs and back, she had checked over a particularly red and swollen area in her side. Touching it with her fingers, she looked inquiringly at Hisana, who murmured something about "falling down."

Shaking her head, Unohana reached for a salve in her bag and gently rubbed it on the area, and amazingly, it reduced in swelling immediately, and felt as if someone had rejuvenated Hisana. Smiling, she asked her to open her mouth and took a look at her semi-sore throat.

"Ukitake had the right idea when he put that honey and sleeping draught into your tea last night," Unohana said as she held her hands gently over Hisana's body, a cool green light flowing from her fingers to try and repair the damage on her body that needed it most.

"Now you should be well enough to go exploring, Hisana-chan." Unohana said with a smile.

"Exploring?" Hisana asked. "I don't understand, I mean, I need to go home, back to my job. I can't leave my sister, I haven't even found her yet."

Unohana shook her head and smiled, "Do you not understand my dear? Ukitake has given you all of this," she said, spreading her arms wide. "He wants you to stay permanently. Please do not reject his kindness. Ukitake is a kind soul, and he loves to help people. You will find many Shinigami here who owe Ukitake their allegiance because of the great kindness that he has given them."

"But I am no Shinigami" Hisana whispered, "In fact, I'm someone of little or no importance."

"Now that, my dear, I'm sure isn't true. I think Ukitake can tell when someone is going to have an influence on how the future of Soul Society, and he believes that you will change something, for the better, I believe." Unohana said with a smile. "Please don't offend Ukitake by leaving, at least muse over your thoughts for a week or so before you contemplate going back outside into the snow and becoming homeless again. He is offering you something priceless."

"Th…thank you, for everything." Hisana whispered, looking down.

"I would suggest that you wear your new Shinigami robes outside" Unohana said with a smile. "They are reinforced with warming spells that activate during the winter, and they will keep you far warmer than those kimonos that Ukitake has given you."

"Of course." Hisana whispered, her eyes looking down at the exquisite embroidery on the coverlet of her bed as Unohana nodded to her and left the room, almost as silently as she had arrived.

Standing up and feeling much better now that her bruises were mostly gone, Hisana reached for her faux Soul Reaper robes and slid them on, enjoying the feel of their warm, thick fabric as Miyoko entered the room with a steaming tray of porridge and fresh orange juice.

Feeling so full that she might burst, Hisana had stood up finally after her long breakfast with Miyoko, the two having spoken of many things, including how she met Kaien and married him. Their sweet story of two long lost childhood friends from Rukongai coming back together during their duties as Soul Reapers was touching, and made a tear slide from her eyes down to the sleeves of her black robes.

Miyoko had left her eventually, leaving the door wide open as an invitation to her to leave the pavilion. She had even left her a little hand drawn map of some nice gardens and indoor libraries and studies that she could visit as well, to avoid staying out in the cold.

Smiling, Hisana stepped out into the cold, wrapping a deliciously warm and soft brown scarf around her neck and letting it trail across the small of her back as she fingered the hilt of her practice soul slayer, tracing her leather gloved fingers down the sides of the railings along the walkways, her eyes looking down at the frozen ground below as she neared the line on the ground that hid the walls that sheltered this secret paradise away from Rukongai below.

A familiar voice echoed down the hallway as she turned a corner, noticing a strange looking man in Soul Reaper Captain's robes arguing with her employer, Master Dillimund. Gasping, she tried to back away, but the two men turned towards her. The one in the Captain's robes looked like some sort of strange hollow, a hideous black mask with eerily white teeth and strange pale white hands making her withdraw back towards the walls.

"What do you want girl?" the Captain demanded. "Squad 13 eh? Are you bringing me a message from Ukitake?"

"N…no sir." She replied, trying to turn and run.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dillimund shouted, grabbing the tail end of her robes as she turned to leave.

She tripped and fell hard into the wooden floors as Dillimund shoved his sandaled foot into her back, making her yelp in pain. "Where have you been girl? And where did you steal these robes from? Trying to pass yourself off as a Soul Reaper so you don't' have to pay me back, you disrespectful little bitch?!" he shouted, his voice rising with each word.

"I didn't…" she began, but was cut off as the overweight shopkeeper's staff hit her in the jaw, making her spit out blood.

"I don't want to hear it! You belong to me, do you hear me? How DARE you try and run away?" he screeched, his spit hitting her in the face as she tried to scramble out of the way, but it hit her back again, and she felt something crack, painfully. Screaming in pain, she tried to shield herself with her arms, but another hit equaled another crack.

The evil looking soul reaper behind him did nothing but stare, even when she screamed out a desperate, "Help me, please!" at the top of her lungs.

She tried rolling into a fetal position, but was unable to shield herself from the blows. Another one hit her in the side. By now she was crying, unable to stop the tears from coming as the blows rained down. "You will NEVER see your sister again if you don't do as I say GIRL!" the man shouted.

Suddenly, the blows stopped and she heard the sickening thud of the stick cracking in two and collapsing on the floor as Dillimund screamed and jumped away from her. Turning her bruised face, she stared up at the back of a tall figure, a Zanpakutou drawn from its sheath pointing at the weedy little man in front of her.

"M…my par…pardons sir." The little man stammered, but it was to no avail. The Zanpakutou was pulled back and held straight up in front of the Captain's face, for her savior wore the white robes of the elite.

"Tha…thank you my lord…my apologies, plea…" he was cut off as the soft and deadly voice came from the stoic figure in front of her.

"Who said I was forgiving you?" he hissed, "Senbonzakura…" he murmured. "Scatter."

Master Dillimund didn't even have time to scream as a thousand tiny sword blades cut into his body like daggers, blood spurting everywhere as he collapsed in a bleeding, gasping, dying heap on the floor, his blood dripping down the sides of the building to hit people below like the rain of the damned.

The man turned and reached down to caress her wounded face, his dark hair hiding his dark, stormy eyes. "Cap..Captain Kuchiki…" she whispered, her hands reaching weakly upwards but falling without the strength to move.

"Please" he whispered, as he lifted her in his arms and cuddled her to his chest once more, "Call me Byakuya."

_I was moving at the speed of sound_

_Head spinning couldn't find my way around_

_Didn't know that I was going down_

_Yeah, yeah_

_Where I've been, well it's all a blur_

_What I was looking for I'm not sure_

_Too late and didn't see it coming_

_Yeah_

_Then I crashed into you_

_And I went up in flames_

_Coulda been the death of me_

_But then you breathed your breath in me_

_Then I crashed into you, like a runaway train_

_Your will consumed me, _

_But I can't walk away _


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, and favorited!! Y'all (yes I am a Southern belle, lol) make me sooo happy! _

_Theloveablechelsea: I hope it was a good cry and not a bad cry ___

_Oh, and about this chapter, suggested listening is "Once in Every Life" by Aselin Debinson. This song is very hard to find, but if you look on Youtube and search for "Once in Every Life", there's a FFX-2 AMV that is very well done to this song. Also, you'll notice that Byakuya's father's name is "Kageyoshi", I figured that since his Bankai is "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi", I'd give its name a little meaning!_

_Enjoy:D_

**Chapter VI: Once in Every Life**

When Hisana awoke, she was surprised to find herself in a room even more spacious and large than her new room in Ukitake's pavilion. This room felt ancient, but was not unlike the light airy rooms that Ukitake's pavilion had. A large, hard wood chest sat next to a blazing fireplace with a small shrine next to it, along with a great seal consisting of two crossed zanpakutous and a snarling Hollow Mask.

She looked down and realized that her wounds had been bandaged and treated, and she sat inside a bed larger than the king sizes of the Living World. The blankets were a plain, blood red embroidered with large white flowers. A massive amount of pillows were piled up behind her, and a deep blood red screen with a phoenix rising from a pavilion covered the only window, casting a macabre shadow on the floor next to her.

The screen slid back and an ancient looking woman in a white hakama tottered into the room, carrying a steaming bowl with a soft towel hanging out of it.

"Hello dearie" she croaked, her wrinkled hands reaching out to take one of Hisana's damaged ones in her own, gently edging her towards the side of the bed. "You were lucky that my grandson was passing your way when he happened to see you" she whispered. "He's such a good boy, my little Byakushi."

"Grandson? Bya…kushi?" she whispered, remembering the name from Kiyone's teasing the day before.

The old crone laughed out loud and patted her hand again as she helped her stand on her weak, bandaged legs. "Ah, don't tell my Byakuya that I call him that still, he's such a good boy" she said with a weathered looking smile. "His grandfather will never say so, but he is so proud of him."

"Proud?" Hisana murmured.

"Yes, Byakushi is the first son of the Kuchiki household to be able to do "bankai" the highest and most complicated of maneuvers with a Zanpakutou. He is a complete master. He won his captainship almost directly out of the academy, he's considered sort of a rising star and prodigy among the 13 Gotei" she giggled.

"Amazing." Hisana whispered. "He must be a strong man."

"He is a strong man, and he has requested your presence at dinner this evening."

"What?!" Hisana gasped, blushing. "I can't, I mean, it would be a terrible imposition on your family…"

"Don't worry my dear, Byakushi won't bite. Why else would he have given you his own personal chambers to sleep in this afternoon after Captain Unohana came by to heal you earlier this afternoon?"

"This is his room?!" Hisana gasped, her voice growing a little high pitched and ending in a squeak.

"Yes deary, but don't worry. Mayuri-sama came by and told us all about his daring rescue of you from that man."

"Mayuri…sama?" she whispered, remembering the recipient of the package she had been delivering only two days ago.

"Yes, he is the Captain of Squad 12 and head of the Shinigami Research Institute. He is a rather strange looking young man."

"And he came by to tell you just that I had been rescued?" she replied. Hisana's lips tightened as she realized that Mayuri was the Captain who had stood by and watched her be beaten by Master Dillimund. He had meant to humiliate Kuchiki-sama by coming and telling the story of how he had saved the Rukongai scum from her owner.

"Don't worry though dearie, you'll do just fine, my Byakushi has fine taste." She replied.

"Fine taste?" Hisana whispered, jumping as the woman reached to help her out of her robe.

"Bend down dearie, I'm going to give you a sponge bath so you'll smell like cherry blossoms instead of antiseptic, they're Byakushi's favorite scent" she murmured.

"Fine taste? But, what do you mean?" she said, her voice jumping as the soft cloth cleaned her unbandaged skin, the fragrant soaps in the hot water relaxing her immediately.

"Kukuku, I really can't tell you much of how Byakushi's mind works darling" she laughed, "But please, from now on, you must call me Oba-chan."

"O..of course." Hisana replied as the elderly woman reached into a chest behind her and brought out a beautiful gold kimono.

"Byakushi's mother wore this when she met our son, Kageyoshi." Oba-chan giggled, "I think Byakushi will enjoy seeing you wear this."

"But..but..I mustn't, really!" Hisana pleaded. "It must be so terribly valuable, what if I messed it up?"

"Don't worry darling, I have confidence in you." Oba-chan smiled. "Now, you're all dressed!" she said as she tied the elegant white silk obi around the golden threaded fabric with magnificent birds stitched all over it.

Hisana gulped as Oba-chan handed her a pair of soft golden slippers that matched, then carried her by the hand and led her out into the warm, enclosed hallway. "Follow me darling."

"O…okay." Hisana whispered, and walked down the hallways softly and demurely behind her.

After some five minutes of twists and turns they walked up a set of elegant curved, gilded stairs that led into a private dining area. Oba-chan bowed and Hisana followed suit as Kuchiki Byakuya uncoiled himself like a black panther from a low lying cushion next to the fire to greet them.

"Oba-chan, do not bow to me" he murmured, lifting the weathered face of his grandmother, her silvery hair touching his face as he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "And you" he said, turning to Hisana, "look lovely."

Hisana blushed and whispered, "Thank you, Kuchiki-sama."

His hand reached and grabbed her own face, still red and blue on one side from her beating. "Please, Miss Hisana, call me Byakuya."

Hisana barely noticed as Oba-chan backed out of the room, leaving her alone with Byakuya. He reached his hand out towards her own, and she lifted her own dainty hand to sit in it as he escorted her to the fireplace.

"Now, Miss Hisana" he murmured gently, "Please, tell me about yourself."

"Of course, Kuc…I mean, Byakuya-sama."

"Just Byakuya, please." he whispered, and leaned closer to her to pour her tea.

* * *

_Once in every life_

_Love should leave you without a choice_

_Where the only thing right_

_Is to follow that still small voice_

_Once in every day_

_It should take your breath away_

_Once upon a time, should happen once in every life._

_Once you give it your heart_

_Without holding back your soul_

_You can dance in the dark _

_Cuz you're never there alone_

_Once in every hour, _

_You should feel that healing power_

_Once upon a time, should happen once in every life._

_(first two verses – beautiful song)_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Thank you to all who've favorited again!! I can't say how thankful I am to have support on this story. Also, I know Byakuya's a little OOC, it's hard to picture him being in love at all, ya know? LOL – but regardless, here is the next chapter. _

_(To tell you the truth I couldn't stand Byakuya when I first encountered him in the manga, he was a bishonen to be sure, but his personality was about as charming as a wet noodle, haha. After getting more into the manga/anime I realized that there was a lot more to him than meets the eye, and now of course, he's one of my favorites!! I've also realized that Byakuya talks more in the manga than he does in the anime…strange hm?) _

_Suggested listening for this chapter is: "Crush" by Jennifer Paige – Very techno, and something I like quite a bit. _

Chapter VII: It's Just, Ah a Little Crush

Hisana collapsed dreamily into her bed at the Kuchiki family pavilion after the sumptuous dinner she had had with Kuchiki-sama. She couldn't bring herself to say his name in the familiar as he had asked of her, and she found herself wondering why she had caught the attentions of one of the most feared and dangerous captains himself. It was "certainly odd", she had heard the servants whispering as she was escorted back to her room, where he lingered in her doorway as she gently touched the beautiful heirlooms scattered about.

"This was my mother's private chamber." Byakuya had said to her, his face emotionless as usual. "I spoke to Captain Ukitake earlier today, and he said he will be glad to have you stay in my household while you are treated for the more serious of your injuries."

He had nodded towards her bruised face, which indicated a fractured jaw. She had barely noticed the pain in her limbs, but as the analgesic that Unohana had given her wore off, it was easier to see how she most definitely would not be moving about the court any time soon.

"Kuchiki-sama" she had said before she stopped herself, and her eyes barely caught the flinch that ran through his shoulders, "I mean, Byakuya-sama" she had amended, "Where is your mother?"

"She died, when I was born" he said, his dark hair hiding his facial expression. "My father died soon afterwards during a fight with several Hollows."

Just as Hisana was about to reply, several servants carrying a large tub of steaming water that smelled of herbs arrived behind Byakuya, and he stepped aside to allow them to enter the room. "You must excuse me, Miss Hisana." Byakuya stated, "I will leave you to your bath. Please enjoy the hospitality of my home, my servants will be very pleased to get you anything that you like."

"Thank you, Byakuya-sama." She replied, her eyes looking at his back as he turned to leave the room. "I am indebted to you."

Byakuya had turned to leave, and something about his dark figure blocking the golden glow of light from the hallway had pulled out to her heartstrings. "Byakuya-sama!" she had called, and he had turned towards her once more quickly, his face hidden in the shadows.

"G…good night." She had murmured, her hand lifting in a tiny wave.

"Good night, Miss Hisana." He had whispered, and left just as he had come, silently. The servants had pulled her towards them afterwards, and had had her lift her arms as they pulled the beautiful kimono from her body and hung it on a rack behind them. They had helped her step into the tub and began to bathe her, as if she was unable to do so herself. She had laughed out loud when one of the women had begun to scrub her feet, but the scalding gaze from the servant was enough to make her swallow her giggles. After her bath, they had presented her with an embroidered sleeping gown and had pulled it over her head, leaving the buttons undone as they pulled and combed her hair. They had woven her hair into an elaborate bun, then left her, with bows and thoughts of pleasant dreams as she had climbed into the giant bed.

The singing of a bird awoke her the next morning around ten o'clock, the latest she had slept in over two years. She could hardly believe that her face rested against cool silk, and that her body smelled of a fragrant combination of cherry blossoms and sweet peas. Her body, although still injured, was gently soothed by the comfortable bed, and she sat up slowly, taking her time to stretch out the kinks in her bruised back.

Stretching, a metallic flash caught her eye as the sun soared through the window beside the bed, and she turned towards the bedside table, where a beautiful silver comb lay beside a casually folded piece of parchment.

Opening it, she found a letter from Oba-chan:

_My Dear Miss Hisana,_

_I would be greatly honored if you would join myself and Byakushi in the solarium_

_for a refreshing breakfast of fruit and cream. Please wear this comb, it was given to me by my husband, and I now give it to you._

_I hope to see you soon,_

_Oba-chan_

Hisana gasped and picked up the hand filigreed comb, moving across the room towards a vanity as a knock on the screen caught her attention. "Come in!" she called, setting the note and the comb down on the vanity, thinking it was a servant.

She glanced into the mirror as the screen door slid back and was startled to see Byakuya standing there, the early morning sunlight hitting his handsome features with shades of orange and red. Startled, she reached for the comb and tried to make herself look busy, not catching the smile that glanced across his face.

"Miss Hisana, good morning" his deep voice rumbled, his gaze searing over her small frame as she combed her long hair into a braid. She attempted to place the comb in the braided bun to hold it together, but failed several times in a row, her body becoming warmer and her mind becoming more flustered as his unblinking stare observed her every movement.

The sudden heat of another person made her look up and blush. Byakuya was standing right behind her as she sat on the vanity stool. She hadn't even seen him move. She held her breath as his hands ran up her arms from behind to take the comb from her hands, then exhaled with a shiver as his fingers trailed up the exposed flesh of her arms to reach her neck, and then her head as he placed the comb into her braid for her.

She felt like she could hardly breathe, and leaned down, blushing as she stammered a "T…thank you." Into the heavy silence that purveyed the room.

A sudden knock and the sound of padded feet made Byakuya look up, his face oddly flushed, and step to the side as a household servant dashed in and reached for Hisana to pull her behind a changing screen thinner than paper against another bright window. She watched, almost crestfallen, as Byakuya seemingly turned himself away from her changing to look at the vanity mirror.

After being decked out in a warm, woolen garden kimono, she was brought from behind the screen and presented to Byakuya, who turned away from her to walk towards the door. She followed, her platform sandals making her stumble. "Byakuya-sama, please, slow down!" she called, as he stepped out onto the pavilion walkway.

She tripped, and before she could fall, he had caught her, his hands lifting her by the waist and setting her on her feet again. "Keep up Miss Hisana, we don't want to keep Oba-chan waiting."

"O…of course" Hisana replied, but try as she might, she couldn't match Byakuya's speedy walk. Finally, she dashed forward, her tiny hand sliding into his large one that sat on his sword hilt.

He froze, and so did she, thinking she had done something wrong, and began to pull her hand back. She was surprised however, when Byakuya's gloved hand squeezed her own, and pulled her closer towards him as they made their way towards the garden, his long fingers cupping her tiny ones as she trailed along behind him.

* * *

_It's just a little crush (Ah, crush)_

_Not like I faint every time we touch_

_It's just some little thing (Ah, crush)_

_Not like everything I do depends on you_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Thank you for the favorites and reviews! I'm glad you liked the last chapter!! Bah, I am so tired right now I'm at work and I took a sleeping pill last night and it still hasn't worn off….. Oo_

_Anyways! Suggested listening for this song is "Way Back into Love" from the Music & Lyrics Soundtrack_

**Chapter VIII: I've Been Lonely for So Long**

Oba-chan greeted them at the door of the solarium, the brilliant stained glass ceiling contrasting with the beautiful clear panes that decorated the sides with beautiful frosted details. A lovely low table had been set with fine china, and a delicious sampling of fruits was paired with a pitcher of cream.

However, it wasn't the delightful breakfast sitting before them that made Byakuya stop and drop her hand suddenly. Without warning, he bowed low, revealing Hisana peering from behind his back, looking as if she was gawking.

Her eyes caught the sight of a venerable looking old man sitting on a cushion at the head of the table, a long white beard gracing his elaborately embroidered Shinigami robes, an elegantly polished wooden sword hilt wrapped with a red silken cloth sitting on the floor beside him. A white scarf signifying his position as head of the Kuchiki household was draped around his neck, its fabric plain and worn, but obviously well valued. A cough from Oba-chan brought her back to her senses, and she realized that she had been staring.

She bowed low, her eyes not daring to leave the aged one's before her, her face a furious shade of red as she realized how rude she must have been to stare at so important a person.

"Grandfather" Byakuya said, standing to his full, towering height when the elderly man nodded at him, "I didn't realize that you would be joining us for breakfast."

"This is still my house, boy." The old man groused, his eyes slantingly looking in Hisana's directions, catching the glint of the familiar silver comb in her hair. "And who is your companion, Byakuya? A Lady from one of the four Noble Houses, I should hope. It is about time you brought someone _respectable_ home."

"This is Miss Hisana" Oba-chan murmured, reaching for Hisana's tiny hands. "She is in the tutelage of Captain Ukitake of Squad 13."

"I see" the ancient Soul Reaper huffed, "Another one of Ukitake's urchins? What on earth is she doing here with the boy?"

Hisana could feel Byakuya trembling in anger next to her, and despite the situation, her fingers reached out and grabbed the hem of his sleeve where it rested behind his back. He shot her a sharp look, and she quivered at the look in his eyes. It was an emotion she didn't quite recognize hiding in his stormy gaze, but its fierceness gave her the ability to act as if she wasn't being discussed like a piece of meat in public.

She didn't notice the look that Oba-chan shot her way, or the way that Oba-chan immediately tried to bring Grandfather Kuchiki back onto more pleasant topics. A servant brought cushions for the new guests, and Byakuya was positioned sitting across from her, his stoic gaze diverted to the piles of fresh fruit before them.

"So boy" Grandfather began, "I have heard a report from Captain Mayuri that you have drawn your Zanpakutou in public, _again_."

Byakuya coughed and swallowed the piece of fruit that had seemingly caught itself in his throat. "I deemed it was what the situation called for, Grandfather."

"I see, so you drew your sword against a merchant for the Shinigami Research Institute? I am hardly surprised, you have never been able to control yourself." Grandfather scoffed, breaking into a cherry tomato and letting the juice run down his chin before he wiped it with a napkin. "I find it most odious that the only successor of the noble house of Kuchiki could dare to do something so reckless in a public place, not to mention to employ your Zanpakutou's _name _and _shikai_ in something as absurd as a petty argument."

Byakuya made no comment, but Hisana noticed his hand shaking again as his eyebrows furrowed, almost dropping the curved knife he was buttering his bread with.

"I also find it hard to believe that you, of all people, could _dare_ to use your Zanpakutou in public! If those of the noble houses do not follow the rules, then who will?! We are to lead by example boy, and I expect better of a son of _my _blood."

Hisana could barely believe what she was hearing. Here, in this beautiful place, this man was berating the only grandson, the only heir to the house of Kuchiki for doing a good deed. She could feel herself getting angrier by the minute, and was unable to even sip her tea and mimic Oba-chan as a quiet, but beautiful addition to the decorations on the table. Her lips formed into a frown as the head of the household gained volume.

"You are a disgrace to this household! What were you doing, attempting some sort of show-off move in front of someone as degenerate as Captain Mayuri?!" he was drawing in another breath to continue his derogatory montage when Hisana snapped.

Slamming her hands down on the table, she stood up suddenly, eyes blazing, and turned towards the man at the head of the table. "How _dare_ you say such things to him!" she screeched, Byakuya's eyes wide open and Oba-chan hiding her mouth behind her hands. "He only did that to save me! He is more widely renowned as responsible, not irresponsible, and he came to my aid when I needed it most! And you slander him? He is your only grandson, and is NO disgrace to anyone's blood, and if anyone should be ashamed, it is YOU!"

Breathing heavily and coughing slightly, Hisana's vision swayed when she realized what she had just done. She had just insulted the head of the Kuchiki household. Even the birds in the Solarium had gone silent as she stood there in her borrowed finery, her hair coming loose from its braided bun. Face flushed, she stared at the stunned face of Byakuya's Grandfather, and turned and fled.

She didn't even know where she ran, and her ankles hurt terribly, her back still sore and her jaw aching from being so angry as she dodged servants and stumbled around elaborate doorways and staircases. She ran until the hallway ran out, and shoved the screen door at the end of it open, sliding out onto a private veranda that opened up over a deep gorge. Rushing to the end of it, where it made an L shape, she slid into the corner, her hands over her face. "What have I done, what have I done…" she whispered, a tear running down her cheek.

The sound of the screen door opening and shutting from where she had entered the porch made her shake even more than she had before, and she cowered into the corner, hiding her face with her hands. She was sure to be executed, or exiled back into the Rukongai.

The footsteps that entered the porch stopped next to her trembling form, and she opened her eyes to follow the white robes of Byakuya's Captain's uniform up into his face, where he stood with his mouth slightly agape as he watched her in her corner.

He reached down and lifted her up, sitting her against the wall, with one of her legs dangling over the edge of the cliff. Terrified that her punishment was going to be being thrown off of the cliff into the gorge, she was startled when Byakuya pushed his body in between her legs and held her against the wall with his weight, his sword hilt jabbing her in the thigh.

His hands reached up to grab her face gently, and turned her eyes towards him, so that her teary orbs were gazing straight into his own. "I have never" he began, solemnly, "Heard anyone talk to my Grandfather like that."

"I didn't…I really…I don't…" she stammered, breaking in as he shook his head at her, and she became silent once more.

"And for that…" Byakuya whispered, "There is only one punishment." Hisana shook in his grip as he reached down and removed his sword from his waist, and closed her eyes as she realized that he meant to kill her.

The sudden thunk of his Zanpakutou, sheath and all, crashing into the wooden deck below made her open her eyes, just as his lips crashed into hers, his hands curling deep into her hair as he pulled her close, her legs wrapping around his waist as he devoured her, completely, body and soul.

* * *

_I've been living with a shadow, overhead_

_I've been sleeping with a cloud above my bed_

_I've been lonely for so long_

_Trapped in the past I just can't seem to move on_

_I've been hiding all my hopes and dreams away_

_Just in case I ever need them again someday_

_I've been setting aside time _

_To clear a little space in the corners of my mind_

_All I want to do is find a way back into love_

_I can't make it through without a way back into love_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** The confrontation begins! And thank you everyone! 25 reviews:D :D :D

You guys are awesome! 

Suggested Listening: _The Real Thing, _by Gwen Stefani from her L.A.M.B (Love Angel Music Baby Album)

**Chapter Nine: You're the One I Want**

Byakuya's lips were hot on Hisana's, and she felt as if she were going to faint when his sword hand trailed out of her hair and down to the small of her back, moving her closer to his body. Hisana barely noticed the chill in the air from fresh snowflakes as she lifted her hands that were pressed tightly to the wall upwards, their tiny digits sliding up Byakuya's neck, causing him to let out a breathy moan. Her fingers trailed down the silver ornaments in his hair to touch his cheek like the wings of a butterfly.

Byakuya's hands pulled her head back as he gently tugged on her hair, revealing her pale neck as his lips trailed from hers down to her soft, pale skin, her swollen mouth letting out an "Oh!" of surprise, as he tugged on her obi to loosen her kimono, its fabric falling down her shoulder to reveal her collar bone. His lips slid down her neck and sucked at her pulse point, his tongue lapping at the junction of her neck and chest, causing her to let out her own throaty moan into the cold morning air.

Byakuya slid back up her neck again, stopping at her ear, then laying butterfly kisses along her swollen cheek bone and jaw to come to rest facing her, his forehead resting against hers, his breathing rapid and heavy as her long eyelashes fanned themselves against his skin.

"Miss H…Hisana…I apologize…that was uncalled for." he murmured, his deep voice causing her to shiver as his breath glistened in the winter air. She blushed, turning her face away from his as he paused and seemingly collected his thoughts, her jaw aching. Suddenly, he stood up and lifted her, her legs still around his waist and leaned down to grab his Zanpakutou from the floor, his brow creasing together in a worried fashion.

"Hang on," he said bluntly, and Hisana almost yelped as she realized that they were now balanced on the rail of the balcony.

"Are you crazy?!" Hisana gulped, her eyes watching the ground far below.

"I won't drop you." Byakuya responded, and leapt into the air. Suddenly, Hisana felt herself moving faster than she ever had in her entire life, and gulped awkwardly as her breakfast lurched in her stomach with every massive and speed ridden step that Byakuya took.

The blurry world suddenly slammed to a halt as they came to rest in a chamber with a window above a courtyard nearby, a soft futon lay in the middle of it and another fireplace crackled with flame. Hisana's legs, weary and shaking, almost collapsed under her when Byakuya sat her down on the floor.

"Miss Hisana, please stay here" he muttered, turning towards the door.

"I don't ever want to do that again…" Hisana squeaked. "Wait, where are you going?" she called after his retreating form.

"There is something I must do, please do not try to leave, it would be most painful for you." As he said that, he made a tiny motion with his finger as a dark blue screen enveloped the doorway and all four walls and windows, leaving her trapped inside.

"This screen is made of kidou, demon magic." He said, gesturing with one hand, "It will prevent anyone from attempting to harm you, and will keep you locked inside, I would prefer knowing…"

He looked outside in the courtyard, his expression changing mildly and turned back to her. "I would prefer knowing that you were safe." With that, he disappeared as fast as he had came, and her heart pounded rapidly as she collapsed onto the futon behind her, breathing quickly, her cough reoccurring as she lay there.

A sudden commotion in the court yard that her room overlooked caused her to sit upright, her lungs still heaving, stomach still lurching, and just-been-ravaged lips still throbbing from Byakuya's attentions. She crawled over to the window, dragging the futon with her and looked out, the world tinted blue from the strange barrier around her room. She reached out a finger and touched it, only to jump when it sent a jolt of electricity through her body.

"Ouch!" she hissed, her eyes looking out the window, her nose close to, but far away enough from the screen to prevent her getting shocked again. There, in the courtyard, stood Byakuya, facing his Grandfather, who stood across from him, Zanpakutou drawn.

"Do you boy DARE to challenge me as head of this household?" Byakuya's grandfather roared, his Zanpakutou glowing red against the back drop of white snow around him, every snow flake hitting him sizzling and boiling as it melted.

"I do" Byakuya declared, lifting his Soul Slayer from its sheath. A crowd of servants and the men from Squad 6 had crowded into the area, along with several of the captains, including Kenpachi who was grinning wildly at the sight of Byakuya so riled, and Shunsui, sitting on the roof across from her, his hat cocked across his eyes.

The head of the Kuchiki household lifted his sword and screamed out a powerful, "Higatsuku! RAZE!"

The sword let out a piercing shriek as it roared into a burning furnace, its blade almost disappearing as it shone in the light like oil on pavement. Hisana covered her eyes with her fingers, peeking out from between them at the brilliant sight as the ground shook with the power of the old man's spirit energy. She turned to stare at Byakuya, who stood there solemnly, not moving.

"Call out your Zanpakutou boy!" Lord Kuchiki yelled, as he raised his blade high above his head, "or DIE!" He swung down, the heat of his fire scorching the pale white stone of the courtyard, some of the onlookers robes catching aflame as Byakuya disappeared and sidestepped the blade completely, his speed causing the onlookers to gasp in awe. He dodged attack after attack, never speaking in regards to his Grandfather's taunts, finally stopping across from him where he began, as the old man caught his breath.

Lifting his sword from its position by its arm he didn't even call out its name as he zipped forward in one step, the metal of his sword encased in brilliant white spirit energy colliding with his Grandfather's, but it was too much, and Byakuya was shoved backwards forcefully, one knee skidding along the ground and tearing the fabric out of his robes. Standing up, he lifted his sword, and bowed slightly towards his elder. "I see I have no choice, Grandfather." He spoke out, loud and clear. "Senbonzakura! Chire."

The crowd gasped as Byakuya's sword dematerialized, a blinding flash of light revealing what seemed to be beautiful cherry blossoms floating amongst the snow that hadn't melted already. They flew forward suddenly, and Byakuya's Grandfather dodged them, his heated metal slamming into them as they chased him, their speed increasing as Byakuya from a distance began to increase their movement with his hands. The crowd screamed as a great gash of blood appeared on Lord Kuchiki's arms, and the flower-like metal shards retreated momentarily as the elder caught his breath.

"We are evenly matched at Shikai, grandfather." Byakuya called, his voice echoing amongst the people watching. "But it is time to end this." Byakuya's Grandfather stood his ground, raising his reiatsu as Byakuya flared with a brilliant white light and called out a deep phrase. The world seemed to go silent for a moment as two syllables floated across the space. "BANKAI!"

Letting go of Senbonzakura, it disappeared into the ground. The world went black as a wall of swords erupted from the land around Byakuya in two equal columns, the people obscured from view as his overwhelming spirit energy engulfed the area, onlookers quivering in terror, unable to breathe at the influx of sudden pressure. Even Lord Kuchiki dropped to one knee, his Zanpakutou chipping the paving stones as he tried to stay upright.

"Grandfather, may I introduce Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Byakuya growled as he slid across the courtyard so fast that Hisana saw two of him. "Do not make me set him loose."

Byakuya's Grandfather sat down on the ground, his face watching Byakuya's in awe as he stammered out a now mild mannered, "I concede."

The entire crowd erupted into cheers as Byakuya's bankai suddenly disappeared, leaving him holding an ordinary looking Zanpakutou in the middle of a screaming hoard. Hisana breathed for what seemed to be the first time in ages, her chest heaving from a lack of oxygen. He walked forwards to where his Grandfather knelt, and removed the white scarf from his neck, sliding it around his own, where it billowed in the wind proudly. His Grandfather was escorted from the battlefield by a servant, blood still dripping from his wounds.

Byakuya looked towards her window, no expression on his face as he caught her staring at him. Their eyes locked as he replaced his Zanpakutou in his sheath, and she waved at him, grinning proudly.

And then she gasped, for something happened that she had yet to witness. Byakuya smiled at her.

**Additional A/N:** I made this whole fight scene up based on how Kenpachi won his sword and captainship – by defeating the Captain before him. In this case, the Kuchiki family passes on its mantel of leadership to the strongest in the clan through battle. Also, Byakuya mentions in his fight with Ichigo that Ichigo is only the _**second**_ person ever to see his Bankai in battle, which made me wonder, who was the first person?

I feel that Byakuya, not wanting to harm his Grandfather, who he holds in such high regard (at least in my universe, lol) used the Bankai to intimidate his Grandfather in submission, and well, whaddya know, it worked!

_Lyrics:_

_You're a salty water ocean wave_

_You knock me down you kiss my face_

_I know the storms will always come_

_I still love to have you around_

_Heaven knows what will come next_

_So emotional, you're so complex _

_A rollercoaster built to crash_

_But I still love to have you around_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter X: I want you to know who I am**

A/N: This chapter is shorter than most (sorry) but it gets better after this…this chapter is slightly crack-tastic, lol. I think you'll find it enjoyable 

Thank you for all the favorites and reviews!! Also, I indeed did make a mistake, for some reason I totally _forgot_ Renji fighting Byakuya with Zabimaru and Bya fighting with Senbonzakura Kageyoshi…like dur. So please disregard the whole "who saw bankai second kinda thing" in the ending A/N last chapter, hahaha. I loved that fight too… SS Arc Brainfart, lol.

Suggested Listening: _"Iris" by 3 Days Grace_

It had been almost a week to the day that Byakuya had defeated his Grandfather and become the head of the Kuchiki household, and Hisana had seen very little of him in that time. Tonight, in an attempt to find him when he wasn't busy, she sat inside Byakuya's chambers in a plush arm chair, a cup of tea beside her as an untold number of servants bustled in and out of the room, carrying box after box of papers and other various documents along with a long red robe decorated with the same seal that covered the fireplace. She had placed herself in the chair to try and stay out of the way, but the constant bows from the servants that hustled to and fro around her made her feel like she was holding up some sort of conveyor line.

After her evening meal with Oba-chan, she had been re-adorned with a new kimono in a brilliant pattern covered in shining mythical creatures, a pair of swords sewn into the fabric hilts exposed over her obi, the sheaths sewn in gold fabric below. Her sleeves had been buttoned back, and her wrists re-bandaged. The obi was much different than the ones she had seen before. It was torn and re-sewn in many places, each stitch delicately done, some looking as if they were sewn by a youngster, others more seasoned. She fingered the delicate hem line of the kimono where her legs were tucked up into the chair, and decided she could sit no longer.

She sat up and moved up quickly, her back pulling as she let out a small gasp of pain, trying to ignore the hovering servants around her. "I'm fine", she whispered to the woman who had helped her dress, coughing as she walked towards the doors into the hallway.

Most of her wounds from her encounter with Master Dillimund had healed, and she found herself more often than not wandering the halls of the mansion, looking for something to do. It pained her that she couldn't go out searching for her sister, but she had been specifically forbidden from leaving the estate's grounds by both Byakuya's retainers and Ukitake. She felt like she was being treated like a porcelain doll.

The lanterns had been lit, and a dazzling array of stars decorated the clear sky that she could see beyond the screens. Her fingers trailed along the sides of the walls as she slid her socked feet down the wooden floors, wandering aimlessly around the part of the complex that had become in less than a week the central unit of life for the administrative portion of the Kuchiki household. She couldn't believe that this much paper was involved in anything, but recalling Ukitake's comments about hell butterflies and their purposes, she could see why they had been changed to carry messages in the first place.

Her stomach rumbled loudly as she meandered, and she couldn't help but think that it had indeed been almost ten hours since she had eaten lunch, and that was only a piece of fruit. Even the tea she had had earlier wasn't good enough. She needed a little more honey for her cough. The smell of something cooking caught her nose as she dawdled about, and following the smell she also heard the sound of running water, a good sign for someone as thirsty as she.

Her fingers grasped the handle of the door from which the water sounds came from. A bubbling accompanied it, and she assumed quickly that she had found the kitchen, which throughout her weekly walks, she hadn't seem to been able to locate. She pulled back weakly and slid the door open all the way, a large amount of steam hitting her in the face as she rubbed her eyes against the heat.

A cough brought her back to her senses, and she turned her eyes towards the sound, and almost fell over. There, beneath a stream of steaming hot water showering down on his head from above, was Byakuya, naked, the steam obscuring his lower half from the waist down to his knees, his toned back and chiseled abs glistening under the waterfall, a barely there white towel slung low around his hips.

Her mouth went dry as she blatantly stared at him from head to toe in one slow, swathe of admiration. When she reached her face she was astonished to find his eyes staring directly at her, one eyebrow raised nonchalantly in a slightly astonished expression.

Embarrassed beyond belief, she stepped backwards and slipped, closing her eyes to feel the impact of the floor, only to be caught by Byakuya, who slipped and fell himself, right on top of her.

The funny thing is, shyunpo works well when one has on clothes. Unfortunately for Byakuya, as Hisana tried to calmly notice, his towel was now floating in a puddle of water behind him. A rush of noise from the next room signaled the arrival of several servants, who peeped in, watching Byakuya dangle sexily over the body of the young Hisana girl he had brought home, her legs splayed open, Kimono askew and wet, hair spilling backwards as his own dark hair brushed her still clothed chest, as he sat situated between her thighs.

Hisana was definitely not in the kitchen.

A/N: Mildly cracktastic… LOL

_And I'd give up forever to touch you_

_Cuz I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closet to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now_

_All I can taste is this moment_

_All I can breathe is your life_

_Sooner or later it's over_

_I just don't want to miss you tonight_

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_Cuz I don't think that they'd understand_

_Where everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: This story has been favorited 22 times!! dance dance dance Thank you so much!!

And of course, the weekly update as usual – and the end of the shower scene cliffie Will Hisana ever find the kitchen?

Suggested listening: Alison Kraus "_When you say nothing at all" _

P.S. -- For some reason my Project Playlist told me that "Iris" was by _3 Days Grace_... and when I looked it up on google it was indeed by the _Goo Goo Dolls_. Does anybody know if _3 Days Grace_ did a cover of "Iris"?

**Chapter 11: When you Say Nothing at All**

Byakuya's face was one of marked astonishment as he hovered over Hisana, trying to hide his obvious arousal at their compromising position away and maintain his newly won dignity as head of the Kuchiki household in front of the myriad of servants that had gathered around the opening of the door, their mouths agape in shock.

A well placed glare from Byakuya sent them scattering, scurrying in several different directions as they bumped into each other looking for somewhere to be and something to do. Hisana made sure her eyes were glancing to the side instead of looking directly into Byakuya's, her face as red as a beet as she lay on the damp floor, her head throbbing slightly from her fall.

Byakuya stood up quickly, saying nothing and disappeared behind a frosted glass panel showing only his back's silhouette, leaving a mildly damp and very flustered Hisana standing in the ante-chamber. Looking about, she swiftly backed out of the door she had just entered, sliding it closed and leaning against the wall across the hall for support, her chest heaving.

A little servant girl peered out at her from behind another screen in the next room, the smell of meat cooking on the stove behind her wafting towards her nostrils. The little girl beckoned to her as her stomach growled, and she went through the doors into a large kitchen, where several of the cooks and servants who had been witness to the embarrassing accident a few moments prior tried to look as busy as possible.

"Miss, please, have a seat." The little girl said with a smile, and went over to the stove to bring Hisana a bowl of stew.

"This course is for the banquet later this evening, but from the sound of your stomach, I don't think you can bear to wait."

"Banquet?" Hisana asked, her nose scrunching up.

"Yes, to celebrate Byakuya's ascension into power, I suppose you will be escorting him?"

Hisana's laugh tinkled into the air around her as she picked up a wooden spoon that someone passed her, digging it into the hearty mix of vegetables and beef in a warm broth eagerly.

"I don't really know about that." She said, her embarrassment from moments before temporarily forgotten. She didn't even wipe her mouth with a napkin as she ate, and the servants laughed at the idea of a lady with such table manners.

"What noble house are you from Miss, to have garnered such attention from our master?" an elderly cook cackled as she brought over a plate of fresh cookies.

"I am from no noble house." Hisana laughed, "I am merely a messenger girl from the Rukongai. I was rescued and provided for by Captain Ukitake, and Byakuya-sama saved my life not a week prior, I am greatly indebted to him."

"Indebted eh?" one of the younger girls smirked, "I think I'd enjoy being indebted to him, if your shower escapade is an example of what being indebted entails."

Hisana's face blushed beet red. "It's not like that!" she said, her mouth full of hot stew, causing her to half-choke. "That was an accident."

"I'd like an accident with him" the same girl laughed. "What a beautiful man."

Hisana did not think she was capable of blushing anymore than she already had, and now thought that perhaps she would never remove this color from her cheeks if anyone else continued to speak. A sudden rap on the screen door made everyone in the kitchen freeze as it slid open, Byakuya's damp, unbound and undecorated hair cascading into his face as he stepped into the kitchen, shirtless, a pair of loose pants from a black hakama adorning his lower half, hanging low on his hips as Hisana swallowed the large mouthful of stew she had been eating and wiped her mouth with the nearest cloth napkin, her eyes watching him carefully.

The entire kitchen was eerily still as he stepped into the room, his bare feet padding across the marble tiles until he reached where she sat at the large butcher block topped island. His hands reached out to her, and before she realized what she was doing, she had given him her right hand, and he helped her down from the stool.

Nodding to the chefs, Byakuya dropped her hand and turned to leave, glancing over his shoulder at her. Bowing at the waist to her newfound companions, she padded along after him, her stomach much more cooperative thanks to the food she had received.

Byakuya was completely silent as they walked along the corridor, his toned and muscled back wired and sinewy like that of a large cat's. She barely noticed when they arrived back at his chambers, his eyes turning to stare at her as he opened the door and let her go in first. She scuttled by him nervously, and was greeted by Oba-chan, who sat smiling by the fire-side.

Byakuya walked in behind her, and she glanced at him for reassurance as he caught her eye momentarily. She tottered towards the fire place and took a seat, her body quivering with the warmth of the fire.

Oba-chan reached out and patted her on the hand, beaming. "It is so nice to see you again my dear!" she laughed, reaching out to touch Hisana on the cheek. "I must say, my Haru-chan was quite astonished at your little outburst last week, but I am proud of you for sticking up for my Byakushi." She murmured, reaching over to pick up a cup of tea and sip it. "I am not young, my dear, and it has been many years since I have seen Byakuya look at a woman as he looks at you."

Hisana stopped, in mid-sip, her cup of tea shaking against the saucer. "W..what?" she asked, leaning back against the chair, her eyes glancing around to see if Byakuya was listening. "I don't understand."

"Ah, he used to have a crush on Yoruichi Shuhouin…the former Captain of Squad Two, she was much too old for him though." Oba-chan laughed. "My Byakushi is a fine man." Oba-chan said with a smile, "And I think you would make a fine wife for him."

Hisana coughed, bumping her chest with her fist as she squeaked out the word "Wife?" in between gasps.

"Yes, my dear." Oba-chan said with a grin. "It is inappropriate for any son of a noble house to become the leader of his clan without a wife at his side. I know you may not love Byakuya, and he may not love you, for you have not spent enough time with him to love him yet, I believe, but please, do him the honor of taking his hand."

Hisana swore she could see the room spinning in front of her as she gripped on to the arm rest for stability, "I'm sorry, can you repeat that please?" she asked, her breath catching in her throat.

A deep rumbling from the back of the room made her jump, as she turned to see Byakuya standing in the door way, his face hidden in the shadows. He wore an elaborate navy blue kimono, his hair pulled back into a loosely tied pony tail, his hands cupping something that glittered in the light. "Please, Miss Hisana," he began, and then repeated the sentiments that his Grandmother had just implored of her, "Do me the honor of taking my hand."

Hisana almost fainted right then, and she felt like she couldn't breathe as Oba-chan sat there breathless, a tear running down her cheek. She managed to set her cup of tea down, but her voice wouldn't come out of her throat. Byakuya walked towards her, and she tried to look inconspicuous as he reached out and grabbed her left hand, his bare skin soft against her own as he presented her with a shining band of white gold, a deep red stone set in the center.

"But…but…I am not a noble, I am no one…why, why me?" Hisana stammered, her hands shaking in Byakuya's.

But offering no explanation, Byakuya just looked at her and closed her hand around it. "I will wait for your answer, Miss Hisana. I will not force you into any bonds of engagement if you do not wish them."

With that, he turned and walked through the door, Oba-chan grinning eagerly next to her as Hisana looked at the piece of cupped jewelry in her hands. "Please my dear," Oba-chan declared delightedly, "Think about this seriously, I don't believe that any other lady will do, save yourself."

She darted out the door at a speed that an old woman couldn't possibly have had, leaving Hisana by the fireside as servants came in to prepare her for the banquet that would begin soon. They laid out several kimonos, all of which sparkled like gems in the light of the fire.

"Please, my lady" one of the maids murmured, "Chose your favorite for the banquet tonight."

"But…why…these are too beautiful…" she murmured, her fingers reaching out to touch the nearest of them.

"Because Lord Kuchiki wishes it" the maid murmured, still fanning out the fabrics before her.

Hisana closed her eyes and turned in a circle, then pointed to a random kimono. A solid red, silver embroidered garment was the object of her random selection, and her face blushed as she felt the warmth of the ring in the palm of her hand, the same color as the blood red kimono…the same color as her heart.

* * *

_It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart.  
Without sayin' a word you can light up the dark.  
Try as I may I could never explain,  
what I hear when you don't say a thing._


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry it's taken a little longer than usual to update guys! I've been training all week for my on-campus job and the internet wasn't working! So now that I've returned from internet purgatory, I bring you Chapter 12 of Dark! (a little shorter than usual as well, the next chapter is longer :P )**

**Suggested listening: "**_**I Surrender" **_**by Celine Dion**

**Chapter 12: Forgive me My weakness…without you it's hard to survive**

Hisana nervously stood in the ante-chamber of the banquet hall, the numerous loud voices inside making her quiver nervously. The servants had pinned her hair back elegantly with the comb that Oba-chan had given her, and now she stood as quiet as she could be, listening to glasses tinkle and people laugh. Her maidservant had asked her to stand quietly at the doors of the banquet hall until her escort arrived. Several other noble ladies had walked past her, fans in their faces, fur robes draped over their arms as they pranced around for the benefit of the many handsome Soul Reapers from Squad Six standing about.

A shadow encompassed her own, and she turned, knowing immediately who stood behind her. Byakuya hovered there, his eyes watching her clenched left fist, as if he knew that she still clasped his ring, a symbol of the promise he was willing to make to her, and her alone, in her grip. Beside him stood his Grandfather, and on his left arm, his escort, Oba-chan.

She smiled at him and patted him on the arm as they walked by, leaving the former lord of the Kuchiki household standing next to her, Oba-chan winking at her from behind Byakuya's massive sleeves.

"Well girl?" the elderly man demanded, holding out his arm, still bandaged from the injury he had received in he and Byakuya's battle. "Escort me, we don't have all night!"

"Isn't it normally the other way around?" Hisana groused, moving to his left side so she wouldn't be bumped by his sword hilt on the right. "Isn't the man supposed to escort the lady?"

"Not when the lady is not truly a lady." The old man cackled as the double doors opened wide, a large banquet hall coming into view. Hisana swallowed her retort as applause broke out around the large hall at the appearance of the venerable Soul Reaper. A handler dashed over to guide them to their seats, Hisana was placed on Byakuya's right hand side, and she knelt at her seat as murmurs and whispers erupted around the room. Hisana looked up and spotted Ukitake at the table to the right of her own and smiled, lifting her fingers in a tiny wave. He nodded back to her, a grin breaking out on his face.

Kiyone waved from behind him, and Shunsui and Miyoko and Kaien all sat behind him. She let her eyes wander down to her plate and waited for Byakuya to take a bite. As soon as he had, the whole hall erupted in feasting. She ate tiny, delicate bites, her eyes wandering around. She spotted an irritated looking Captain Mayuri and a solemn looking girl sitting next to him in the back of the room. Her job seemed to be as a punching bag for his sour temper, and a source of his unpleasant disposition.

After half an hour of eating and drinking, and general merry making from the court of the 13 Gotei, Grandfather tapped his elaborate looking silverware against a crystalline goblet, causing all sound in the room to cease as all its occupants turned to look towards him.

"I have an announcement to make" he coughed, his voice seeming very frail in the large open space. "I have fought the trial by fire, and I have lost. Therefore," he continued, pausing to take a glance in Byakuya's direction, "It is with great pride that I present to you Kuchiki Byakuya, Lord and Master of the Kuchiki family."

A flattering amount of applause went up as all of Squad Six erupted in cheers, Yachiiru squealing "Yay BYAKUSHI!!" at the top of her lungs. Byakuya stood solemnly, and nodded, then returned to his seat to continue his meal. A flash of silver to the left of him made him avert his eyes downward, where he caught a glimpse of something that made him forget to breathe momentarily, his heart pounding in his throat.

There, on Hisana's left hand, was his ring. "Miss Hi…Hisana?" he managed to choke out, his normally deep voice sounding unusually high in the noisy hall, her face tilting towards his slightly as he reached sideways to touch her arm lightly.

"It is inappropriate for the master of a household so noble as that of the Kuchiki family…to be a Lord without a wife at his side."

Byakuya turned his head to the side, his brow furrowed as he looked down at his plate. "Thank you, Miss Hisana." He murmured, eyes not daring to look in her direction for fear that she would see the mild blush covering his face.

A light touch on his hand made him turn, to see her leaning in towards him, all sounds drowning out as he looked into her eyes. "Please, Byakuya-sama," she whispered, "J..just call me Hisana."

**A/N: Kinda fluffy, I know, but who doesn't like fluff?**

**Read and Review!! **

**And thanks for all the favorites!! I love you guys!**

**Kristen **


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Class starts tomorrow! Noes!! It's okay though, here's a chapter for back to school!! ******

**Suggested Listening: **_**"I want to Grow Old with You" by Westlife **_

**Chapter 13: I Wanna Grow Old with You **

Hisana moaned as she lay back against the soft mattress, her back, still sore from her beating, melting into the bed with pleasure. Ukitake had escorted her back to her chambers, for he too was a guest in the Kuchiki household tonight, along with every other Captain and influential person in the Gotei 13.

The two of them had laughed as she had almost glided down the hallway, arm in arm with her benefactor. "Hisana," he remarked, his silver hair flowing behind him, "You are truly becoming a lady, are these nobles rubbing off on you?"

She had laughed, a happy, tinkling laugh, something that Ukitake had never truly heard before. "I believe," she responded, her eyes lighting up "That Kuchiki Oba-chan is rubbing off on me, she's quite the influential person around here." 

"Ahh, so is what they say true? Behind every great Kuchiki Lord there is a great Kuchiki Lady?" Ukitake had asked.

"I believe so!" Hisana laughed again, her left hand, ring on her fourth finger, trailing along the railing of the walkway. Ukitake caught a glimpse of the jewelry on her hand, its blood red stone winking in the dimming light from the lanterns.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, his arm unhooking from her own as he reached for her hand. She tried to pull it back, but he was too quick, and pulled her small hand into his large ones as his fingertips touched the glowing gem set in the ring.

"This…this is…Do you know what this is?" he whispered, eyes reverent. "This is a great ring, this ring was made by the very first Soul Reaper."

"What?" Hisana gasped, her hand jerking back.

"Do you not know the legend of how the Soul Reaper's began?" Ukitake asked excitedly, his eyes glinting in the dim light as he ran his finger over the gem.

"No." Hisana replied, her eyes wide.

"Well, legend says that at the beginning of time, there was a man who traveled around the world, watching the depravity that enveloped it even at its consumption, and wanted something better than what he saw below him. It was this person, who wanted to defend and save the souls of not only the people he loved, but the people that he had never even met, that was blessed with the powers of the first Shinigami, the first Soul Reaper. He is the one who opened the gates of Hell the first time as he defeated the first Hollow." Ukitake murmured, his hands almost shaking as he touched the ring.

"The first Hollow was a man who killed the first Soul Reaper's wife, and child, the people most beloved to him in the entire world, and it was this man who vowed to avenge them, even in death, that gave him the powers that he so wished. He made a bargain with the devil, you might say. To defeat the one that haunted him still, the evil man that had been killed, but still rose and devoured others before him, he bargained his own soul. If he could be given the power to defeat that demon, that first Hollow, he would give his own life."

Hisana's eyes widened even more as she watched Ukitake his zeal giving the story great flare, "What happened next?" she asked, leaning back against the railing.

"The First Soul Reaper destroyed the first Hollow with his Zanpakutou, 'Soukyouku' – it is said to have the power of over a 1,000 Soul Slayers at the same time, but in doing so, he used all of his Spirit energy and tapped into his own life force to fight, and when he died, his remains created the heavens. The evil soul of the Hollow was destroyed, and carried into the gates of hell, but as he did so, he ripped a hole in the sky and created the 'Hueco Mundo'."

"What is Hueco Mundo?" Hisana asked, listening intently.

"Hueco Mundo is the world of the Hollows. The Hollow that the first Soul Reaper fought was also the First Menos Grande, by destroying him, it released Hollows that weren't being dragged to hell, and they retreated into Hueco Mundo, some of them may still be alive today."

"But the most important part," Ukitake said, "Is that the first Soul Reaper created something else as he died. His soul split into five parts, one that made up Soul Society, and the other four that created the noble houses of the Sereitei. However, the reason that the Kuchiki household is the most noble, is due to the name of that Soul Reaper. He was called "Kuchiki Samuru", and the last drop of his blood became the gem in this ring. It has been handed down over the generations as an heirloom and proof that the house of Kuchiki is truly descended from the Gods."

"Amazing…" Hisana whispered, her fingers trailing over the ring.

"Now I will ask you one more time," Ukitake whispered, "Where did you get this?"

"It was a gift." She replied, her eyes looking at the ring as if she had never seen it before.

"Who gave it to you?" Ukitake asked, his eyes staring into her own, "I need to know."

Before Hisana could come up with an explanation, a screen door slid open behind them, and Byakuya stepped out of the shadows, "Ukitake-san" he said, bowing politely to the silver haired Shinigami many years his senior. "I gave it to Miss Hisana."

Hisana turned to look at him, her eyes wide. Ukitake turned back to him, "Lord Kuchiki" he said with a bow, "I merely would like to know why a person in my care has been giving such an amazing gift by the Kuchiki house."

"It was given to Miss Hisana as a wedding gift." He replied, walking slowly towards the pair before him. "Miss Hisana is my intended."

Ukitake gasped and released Hisana's hand immediately, and she retreated into her chambers by scooting behind Byakuya, because the situation was rapidly becoming awkward.

"What…why?" Ukitake asked, "This is a scandal Byakuya, she is no lady of noble birth. I will not stand by as you take advantage of her honor."

Byakuya shot a glare towards Ukitake that could have frozen a raging river. Ukitake silenced immediately. "I did not ask Hisana because I am a philanderer that trifles with the hearts of women. I asked her because she possesses what any noble should want in a wife. She is strong, independent, and beautiful. I have enjoyed her company these past several weeks, and feel I could never grow tired of her."

"People will say terrible things about her Kuchiki-sama!" Ukitake growled, "She will be harassed by every lady of noble birth in the Sereitei!"

"And I will protect her from them." Byakuya replied. "Birth should have no power over who is and who becomes a powerful person in this society."

"And yet you look down upon those who are inferior." Ukitake responded, bitterly.

"I do not look down upon them, I merely offer no assistance." Byakuya replied, "It is useless to believe that even the greatest of the four noble houses could offer sanctuary to all of the Rukongai, we would bankrupt ourselves in an instant."

Ukitake fell silent, his gaze sweeping over the villages that surrounded the Sereitei, his eyes tired and face drawn. "There is so much more we could do" he whispered.

"I concur" Byakuya responded, "but it will take time."

"Byakuya" Ukitake said, dropping all pretense at formality, his hands grabbing the rail, "If you hurt Hisana, I will kill you."

"Would I have given the heart blood of my family to a person that I wished to hurt?" Byakuya asked, blinking as a great flash of lightning slammed into the ground as a winter storm brewed on the horizon.

"No, I believe not." Ukitake replied, as Byakuya turned away from him to gaze towards the door behind which Hisana had disappeared.

"I will not hold her prisoner in my house. Should she ever wish to leave, I will let her." Byakuya responded, his face in the shadows.

"I will hold you to your word, Kuchiki-sama." Ukitake replied, and turned, his white robes flowing behind him, to leave.

_Another day  
Without your smile  
Another day just passes by  
But now I know  
How much it means  
For you to stay  
Right here with me_

The time we spent apart will make our love grow stronger   
But it hurt so bad I can't take it any longer

I wanna grow old with you  
I wanna die lying in your arms  
I wanna grow old with you  
I wanna be looking in your eyes  
I wanna be there for you  
Sharing everything you do  
I wanna grow old with you


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Next chapter:-) School has been so busy, so I think it's been a little longer than a week since I've updated, and if so, my apologies!! I have so much reading to go my brain is melting, hahah. BTW! Thank you for the new favorites!! **

**Suggested listening: "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin**

**Chapter 14: So Cold**

Hisana sat in a tight kimono in the indoor garden with Oba-chan, her breath constricted by the tight bodice of the formal garb and her eyes watering due to allergies to the pollen dusted flowers in the Solarium, coughing intermittently, and quietly, to avoid interrupting Oba-chan's lecture.

So far she had heard quite the spiel about how she was to provide the Kuchiki family with heirs (a thought that had made her blush), along with a grueling lesson on fan holding and how the angle or twitch of a fan could indicate a courtiers' disgust or pleasure at a certain situation. She could almost feel her head swimming at the influx of information that plagued her existence at the moment, and demurely reached for her ceramic cup of tea on the table before her, only to be whacked with a fan by the maid next to her, making her yelp in alarm.

"Miss Hisana!" Oba-chan growled, "Is there a problem? We do not drink tea until all the ladies at the table are drinking tea!"

"Of course Oba-chan," she murmured, rolling her eyes as she ducked her head. Where this evil Oba-chan had sprung from she did not know, but it was almost like having a Hollow living in the house with her now. She didn't know why she had accepted this proposal…I mean, yes, Byakuya was fine and handsome, and offering her the sort of life that those in the Rukongai could barely dream of imagining, but if she had known that it entailed being instructed on how to properly "please" (she blushed again at the thought) one's Lord while also learning how to walk, talk, fan, bow, sneeze, eat, when she could run, when she could speak, when she could not speak…she might have reconsidered, even if she was getting the hell beaten out of her, life in the Rukongai suddenly seemed much more free than life in the Sereitei.

A lapse in Oba-chan's lecture as the elderly woman began to sit down at the table across from her made her bow in recognition, as a younger lady of a household always should. She imagined her little sister, barely toddling when abandoned, learning how to bow and kowtow in a place like this, and almost thought that even though the child would have a better chance of survival if she lived here, she would be much less free to develop and have a normal childhood.

She watched Oba-chan and waited until the elderly woman had sipped her tea, then took a sip, follow by the other young ladies around the table, as in succession of rank, they took a sip as the lady higher than they took her first sip. The maid was the last to drink, but by this crowd, she was only acknowledged by Oba-chan and Hisana.

Hisana held the second-highest rank at the table as the fiancé of the Lord of the household, and when she married, her rank would technically be the highest in the household, although by deference she was still expected to listen to, and allow Oba-chan free reign as the elder, more experienced, and more venerable of the two Ladies.

A ding on a small bell next to Oba-chan signaled that a servant was at the door, and she coughed in the back of her throat to acknowledge them as the other ladies, following Hisana's lead, fanned themselves demurely in the warm greenhouse.

The servant swung the screen door open and bowed deeply on his knees, a second cough from Oba-chan and a "Yes, what is it?" in her sweet voice lilting as pet birds twittered in the trees around him.

"I have a message from Lord Kuchiki, he respectfully requests the presence of Lady Kuchiki and Lady Hisana at a luncheon on the winter porch this afternoon."

"We accept" Oba-chan smiled, "Please inform my grandson that we will be along shortly."

"Of course, Milady." The servant quipped, then bowed again as she nodded, and left the room.

"You see Hisana, your Lord is calling for you already." One of the other ladies at the table smirked from behind her fan as Oba-chan left the table to oversee arrangements for a lunch wardrobe with her seamstress.

"I must say, Hisana" another girl laughed, "You are becoming quite _popular_ here in court, one must wonder how you _ensnared_ the attentions of our Lord Kuchiki…"

Hisana said nothing, her eyes on her cup as she inwardly fumed, her fingers tightened around the glazed ceramic surface, her knuckles white underneath her tied back kimono sleeves. If she'd been in the Rukongai, she'd have been one of the street urchins throwing mud at these ladies' caravans as they were hoisted on litters above the shoulders of servants on excursions into the beautiful wooded areas on either side of the Rukongai for trips to streams and vacation houses.

"My servant girl Mai-chan tells me that you were involved in an interesting incident with Lord Kuchiki in his _shower_ Hisana. How…scandalous." She giggled openly, lifting her cup, eyes staring straight at Hisana.

Hisana knew they were baiting her, all of these ladies had wished to catch the attentions of Byakuya before now, and she could see why he wouldn't have picked any of them. They were all a group of spoiled, sniveling, annoying little biddies that, if she'd had the choice, she'd have ejected them from her quarters and luncheons a long time ago. She had been quite furious that these girls, expected to be her "friends" were allowed to come and go in her quarters, and even watch her being dressed and make comments about what she wore behind their fans.

She hated every minute of this. Before this engagement, she'd been practically free in the Kuchiki household, but now that Byakuya was "Lord Kuchiki" she could no longer even sneeze without someone asking her if "She was alright", I mean, for heavens sake, it was just a sneeze! And heaven forbid she trip, or some other casual human error…

"Hisana" another girl began, a laugh behind her painted lips, "I do believe that…"

"You believe what? Miss Mieko?" she said, putting a large emphasis on the "Miss".

"Excuse me, I am a lady!" she exclaimed, her face scrunching up into an unhappy one, Hisana rather thought it made her look like a prune.

"Well, I am so sorry, I can only address a Lady as a Lady if she shows me the same _courtesy_." Hisana snapped, all the girls looking horrified behind their fans. "I will not tolerate you addressing me as such, am I not of higher rank than you?" she questioned, trying to make her face look as haughty as possible, picturing in her mind Byakuya's disdainful face when he encountered something that bothered him.

"You are of no rank of importance!" one of the other girls hissed.

"I beg to differ, and seriously, should you really make an enemy of someone who is to become the Lady of highest authority in Sereitei? I should think not, I'd hate to inform Byakuya-sama that I'm having a…a _difficult_ time receiving cooperation from my subordinates."

The mention of Byakuya silenced the girls, and they all mused behind their fans like a bunch of midge flies as Hisana raised herself regally from the table and swept from the room, her maid following in her wake. Trying to make herself "float" as she walked was ridiculous, and Hisana reached up and tore her hair down from its elaborate dressing, braids falling and unwinding into long curls that trailed to her waist. Rolling up her sleeves even more she turned a corner and almost ran into another Lady visiting the house. She gave an elaborate bow, as required, then dashed towards the nearest open door, hoping that no one was behind it.

A quiet study with a large cherry wood desk flanked by massive bookshelves turned in a spiral upwards to the ceiling, a mosaic tile creating a beautiful picture of a cherry tree with a million falling blossoms that trailed down the wall to the floor, where it became a massive tiled pattern, a splash of pink amongst a sea of reflective blue. Nearby, a fire place roared, and two plush and cozy arm chairs were slung by its sides, a large cat had pulled blankets into the comfier of the two chairs, and a litter of kittens lay at her side.

Sighing in relief, Hisana pulled the door shut behind her and collapsed next to the fireplace, dismissing her maid, who peeked around the door worriedly with a wave of her hand. "Kamiko, please come get me when Oba-chan calls."

She leaned her head against the cushion of the chair, sitting on the tiled floor, her robes spilled around her as she gazed into the fire, her whole body yearning to just get out for a little while, to get away. Glancing behind the desk, she noticed that the window here was not just a window, but a set of double doors with a view of the woods that backed into the house on one side. With a sigh of relief, she reached for her robes and gathered them around her, then pushed the doors open, her whole body embracing the cold winter's air that blew against her cheeks, her hair streaming behind her in black waves of ebony. On the desk behind her a black woolen robe had been left behind, and this she pulled over her kimono as she stepped off the low porch and into the woods, the fresh smells of Cedars and Pines, the trees of the Living World, but massively taller, for these were "First Trees", brought from the Living World after giving birth to "all trees".

The carpet of pine needles crunched under her feet as she walked, her fingers trailing on the bark. Turning, she could see she had left a clear trail of footprints behind her, and she went farther in, and deeper into the woods, feeling like she was free, even if it was just for a minute.

As she turned to look behind her again, her foot slipped, and she toppled down an embankment she hadn't even noticed in front of her. She let out a little scream, and looked down at her ankle. A deep cut ran up her leg, and she hissed a little bit in annoyance as it bled. "Dammit Hisana…" she fussed, and tore a piece off of her beautiful obi to tie up the wound. "You just had to go and do something stupid, didn't you!"

Looking around, Hisana realized that she was truly and deeply stuck. The ravine she had toppled into was at least fifteen feet high, and went on in either direction as far as she could see, banks of snow blocking out her vision. She remembered from a far away time that when you are lost you should stay in the same place, but if she could just get back up on the bank, she could easily limp her way home.

Walking a little ways down the trench, she found a collapsed area, and scrambled up, her kimono rapidly getting wet and dirtier by the instant. As she reached for a rock on the top of the bank, she shrieked as it moved, and flung her backwards, her head and body hitting a wall of ice behind her.

"Well, well, well….what have we here?" a strange, echoing voice laughed around her.

"Seems to me we found us a tasty soul to eat." Another voice cackled, and Hisana stared in terror as over the bank, a set of pale white masks adorned with different patterns, their teeth gnashing, peered over the top of the ravine, their disgusting black bodies and strange appendages following as the pair of Hollows crept towards her, their eyes unwaveringly staring at her, yellow depths pooling with lust.

**A/N: Cliffie? I feel like this song really fits, the first verse for the hollows, second verse for Hisana. Not really a Bya x Hisa song, but it fits the chapter. R/R!! Thanks for reading!! **

_**Crowded streets are cleared away**_

_**One by one**_

_**Hollow heros separate as they run**_

_**You're so cold keep your **_

_**Hand in mine**_

_**Wise wonder while**_

_**Strong men die**_

_**Show me how it ends**_

_**It's alright**_

_**Show me how defenseless you really are**_

_**Satisfied and empty inside**_

_**That's alright, let's give this another try**_

_**If you find your family**_

_**Don't you cry**_

_**In this land of make believe dead and dry**_

_**You're so cold, but you feel alive**_

_**Lay your hand on me one last time**_


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Since I am going to be having a surgical procedure done on Tuesday (nothing serious, minor stuff) and most likely won't be lucid Tuesday after Anesthesia and all that crud (I'm totally freaking out about this IV thing – I hate needles) I'm going to post this early! I'm also posting the first chapter of my currently on-going A/U Bya/Hisa, and when I say, "A/U" I mean definitely not anywhere near Bleach World. Think of it as a parallel universe like in xxxHolic. :) **

**Suggested listening is "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down**

**Chapter 15: Kryptonite **

Hisana scrambled backwards, her hands fiddling around as she lifted another rock and chunked it at the larger of the two Hollows. It glanced off his white mask, and it laughed again, its voice filling the ravine and echoing around as she tried not to panic. Her foot was paining her, but she made herself walk on it as the two Hollows tormented her, playing with her as if she was a mouse and they cats.

She knew now why Oba-chan had warned her not to go into the forests surrounding the Rukongai. Although Squad Six was stationed in this area due to Byakuya's captainship, she would be lucky if she managed to find another Soul Reaper in the woods before she was eaten by her assailants.

She stared down at the ring on her hand as she pulled herself into a crack in the rock as one of the Hollows slammed his fist down next to her head, causing her to scream as a piece of rock cut her face. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" she shrieked, picking up a sharp rock and stabbing it through the hand of the Hollow that reached for her, causing it to roar loudly as it writhed backwards, yanking the stone from its black skin.

"But we're so hungry little Lady" the smaller of the Hollows cackled, stroking its face with its hands. "Don't you want to feed the hungry?" He slammed forward, his teeth snapping against the rock. A sudden roar from the Hollow behind it made it turn, and Hisana caught the glimpse of a Zanpakutou slicing through its head. The other Hollow turned and disappeared over the bank, its roar dying out completely. The Soul Reaper leapt down into the ravine, sliding in front of her small hiding place, robes disheveled and breathing heavily.

"Hisana?" the voice asked, familiar, and deep as a hand reached out to touch her face.

"Byakuya…Byakuya-sama!" Hisana yelped, sliding out of the hole and into the arms of her fiancé, her face covered in mud and blood, her ankle still bleeding, bruises covering her where the first Hollow had whacked her into the ice wall.

"What are you doing out here?!" he demanded, his voice cross, raised for the first time since she had met him, as he lifted her up to stand in front of him as tears ran down her cheeks, stabbing Senbonzakura into the ground.

"I wanted to go out…outside, I slipped and fell, and th…they found me" she blubbered, trying not to cry too much and trying at the same time to act like a lady as practiced, even when being rescued from certain death. Byakuya turned his head, his hair falling into his face, not pulled back with its silver clips, wearing a casual lunch robe instead of his Shinigami garb. Her hand reached out and grabbed his robes, trying to see his face, which was still facing away from her.

"B…Byakuya…sama…" she whispered, trying to catch his attention. "I…"

"Hisana, hush." Byakuya said bluntly, causing her to catch her voice in her throat. She stopped abruptly, eyes crestfallen as she realized that she had shamed her Lord. More tears fell down her face as Byakuya turned away from her, pulling his robes from her hands.

His back to Hisana, Byakuya was too preoccupied to see the other Hollow leaping through the air towards him. "BYAKUYA!" Hisana screeched, lunging forward to push him out of the way as the Hollow's teeth dug into his shoulder.

Byakuya was thrown like a rag doll as the Hollow descended on him. Hisana, panicking grabbed Senbonzakura in her hands, whispering a "Help me DAMMIT!" to the sword as she leapt onto the Hollow's back and stabbed the sword into its skull, the force of the blow cutting her hands open as the Hollow dissolved, and she fell to the ground, where the snow was running red.

"Byakuya, BYAKUYA!" she gasped, turning his body, face-down in the snow over to face her. His arm was almost completely severed. Sticking an unsheathed Senbonzakura into her Obi, she tore off the sleeve of his robe and tied off his arm at the shoulder, then packed it with snow, keeping it cold so the blood wouldn't come out as fast. Byakuya was pale and she, with strength she didn't know she had, hefted him up the embankment, lying him on boughs of greenery pulled from the trees and dragging him, blood trailing behind down her former path, her voice, weak, yelling for help as she stumbled through the snow.

**A/N (again, sorry): Another cliffie? **

**R/R please! And check out the teaser chapter of my A/U Bya/Hisa :-) I'd really appreciate it! **

I feel there is nothing I can do, yeah

I watched the world float  
To the dark side of the moon  
After all I knew it had to be  
Something to do with you  
I really don't mind what happens now and then  
As long as you'll be my friend at the end


	16. Chapter 16

**

* * *

**

**Okay, so this chapter is where it heats up a little bit – therefore, the reason why this story is and has been since the beginning, rated 'M' – if you don't want to read it, I will insert a black line before and after. **

**Suggested listening for this chapter is: "Amazed" by Lonestar **

**Chapter 16: Amazed **

Hisana's pleading cries for help hadn't been heard until it was almost too late. It was lucky that a patrol from Squad Eleven had been in the vicinity. They had carried Byakuya back to the house on his shoulders, while another had fetched Captain Unohana and another healer to tend to her own wounds.

She wept bitterly as the young man bandage her cuts and taped the slice on her face closed, then gave her a healthy dose of healing magic to both calm her and help the recovery process on its way, but much more had to be done for Byakuya.

Unohana had told her that it was lucky that he hadn't lost his arm, or his life. She had said that he was fortunate that Hisana had been there to stop the Hollow, but Hisana couldn't help thinking that it was her fault that the Hollow had bitten him in the first place. The Hollow had had a poison in its mouth that prevented blood clotting, and the wounds were proving terrible to close. They had even had to do a transfer of spirit energy from Squad Six's third seat to help him recover from the wound. Unohana had even mentioned that she was worried that his entire right side might never recover from the extent of the damage. Black magic was dangerous, especially when it infected the soul.

Hisana had crept into his room when they were done, her hands reaching towards his robes as she gently placed Senbonzakura back into its sheath, trying not to make too much noise as she laid it down next to him on his massive bed, his breathing labored, his entire right arm and chest bandaged as he tossed miserably from side to side.

Hisana laid her head against the bed, her face resting against the cushions, and watched him throughout that dreadful night, not even moving when Oba-chan came and tried to cajole her into coming to bed, or when Grandfather had tried to forcefully hoist her off the floor.

"We all care for him Hisana!" he snapped, "But if you worry yourself sick I fear that he will be more frustrated with you than he probably is now, because you're annoying the hell out of him."

She had turned and faced him, and not said a word, just clung desperately to the frame of the bed, until muttering something about "Stupid women", Grandfather had trotted off to his own bedroom, where Oba-chan had already cried herself to sleep from worry. Hisana had sat, changing his cool cloths on his forehead and tending to him, even though she had little to do, until, exhausted, she had laid her head against a cushion propped against the bedframe and collapsed into slumber, her entire body and soul tired, all of it reaching out for Byakuya.

The next morning, she rolled over into something warm and comfortable, expecting to feel a crick in her back from her painful sleeping position, but instead she found herself sprawled out on Byakuya's bed, her sleeping shift half-way untied and messily laying about her as she struggled underneath a thick smattering of blankets to unearth herself from the massive bedclothes.

She looked like some sort of waif, her hair drowning her pale skin as she looked wildly around her for Byakuya, an indention left by his body was beside her, but he was nowhere to be found. She looked around the room, but couldn't find him, and readjusting her robe, she leapt out of the bed, barefoot and barely clothed, running into the next room, towards the bathroom.

He wasn't there either. Hisana was panicking now. What if Byakuya had died during the night? What if the wound had reopened and they had moved him to the Squad Four emergency ward? Dashing past Byakuya's study adjoining the bedroom, she froze, her robe slipping around her shoulders as she saw Byakuya standing there, bloodstained bandage still wrapped around his arm, his back bare as he held a naked Senbonzakura in his left hand, instead of his right, in front of a massive fireplace, his hair falling on tan skin, his pants hanging low on his waist.

Hisana tip toed her way into the room, trying not to disturb him, whatever it was that he was doing, but as soon as she entered, he turned his head, his eyes catching her own as she clutched her robe tighter around her, her head hanging down as she tried to avoid his gaze. She walked to stand in front of him, where she dropped to her knees and bowed with her head touching the floor, tears dripping out of her eyes as she mumbled something from between her lips.

"I…I am so sorry" she whispered, "I should never have gone out there, and you got hurt and…I…I…" she hiccupped softly, her eyes lifting toward his own, almost far out of sight with his towering height.

She leaned forward, her hair touching his bare feet as she laid a soft butterfly's kiss on both of them, then grabbed his legs with her arms, pulling herself up his body, unwinding against him, her lips touching the skin of his stomach, inch by inch, gently, until she could no longer half-way kneel, and she stood, body to body with him, her lips kissing up his chest to his shoulder, to the wound on his arm, where she laid a last, soft caress, lingering there the longest as she tried to will the wound to close, "Please" she whispered, desperately, "Forgive me."

Byakuya was silent, and Hisana looked up, trying to see if it was possible for this man, this man that she had begun to silently adore over the few weeks that she had been in his household, this man that was kind without meaning to be, too kind, to forgive her She who had betrayed all of his kindnesses by throwing her life away, and his.

Hisana's silent gaze caught something as it dripped rapidly down the side of her Lord's face. As if in slow motion, she watched as a crystalline droplet cascaded down Byakuya's face, a single, lone tear, to hit the cherry-wood floors with a silent splash.

Byakuya turned, his left hand sheathing Senbonzakura and laying it tenderly in the chair by the fireplace, his wounded right hand catching her fingers as he tugged her back towards his bedroom, and she followed like she was in a dream, her skin hot against his own as he shut the doors and pulled the drapes closed, his eyes burning into her as he turned towards where she now stood next to the massive mattress.

He bumped her with his knees, and she fell backwards, tugging her feet onto the bed as Byakuya crawled on top of her, leaning on his knees and forearms, his lips reaching for her own and claiming them passionately as he let out a guttural groan, his left hand reaching for her robes as he pulled the tie open, her bare skin hitting the cool air of the room, Byakuya's weak hand now pinning them above her head as he trailed his wet kisses down her neck into the valley between her breasts, his left hand trailing down her hot skin as she whimpered softly, her mind swaying under the million amazing sensations this man's touch was giving her.

* * *

"Bya…kuya-sama…" she gasped, arching her back into his touch as his lips claimed one of her breasts with his mouth, causing her to buck beneath him in shock, her eyes closing as she tried not to believe that this was all a dream. He released her hands and they grasped the uninjured portion of his back, her nails leaving red marks down Byakuya's left arm as his kisses trailed even lower down her body, causing her to whimper as he spread her legs with his own, her robe forgotten underneath her pale skin, white as alabaster against the deep red of his sheets.

Hisana cried out as he descended on her, holding her legs apart gently, but forcefully, his tongue lapping at her while she tried to ignore the blinding sensation that was building in her body. "Bya…kuya!" she yelped, as he suddenly stopped just before she reached her peak, leaving her wilted against the covers.

* * *

"That", he whispered in her ear, his tongue lapping out at her lobe, "is your only punishment."

Hisana trembled beneath him, her body shaking as he leaned closer into her. "Come to me tonight" he whispered, "And I will give you all of my soul."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the next room, leaving an exhausted and ravaged Hisana lying on his bed, her robe haphazardly around her body as she breathed heavily, her cheeks flushed against the red covers, her hair and body damp with sweat as she reveled in the scent of his body, the very thought of their next encounter leaving her breathless with desire.

**A/N: Lyrics below! **

**Every time our eyes meet**

**This feeling inside me**

**Is almost more than I can take**

**Baby when you touch me,**

**I can feel how much you love me**

**And it just blows me away**

**I've never been this close **

**To anyone or anything**

**I can hear your thoughts**

**I can see your dreams**

**I don't know how you do what you do**

**I'm so in love with you**

**It just keeps getting better **

**I wanna spend the rest of my life**

**With you by my side**

**Forever and ever**

**Every little thing that you do**

**Baby I'm Amazed by you**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the support Dark continues to get! I'm very excited when I see "Favorite Story" emails in my box every day :) I think I'm up to…33 maybe? Very exciting!!!**

**Suggested Listening: Okay y'all are gonna flip. This is soooo old school!**

"**God must have spent a little more time on you" by NSync, and or Alabama, who did a Cover :) **

**Chapter 17: A Little More Time**

Hisana floated dreamily into her lessons with Oba-chan, her wounds almost healed on her face, her hands still bandaged as she took tea with the same ladies from the day before yesterday, her fingers on autopilot as she managed to both fan herself and eat like a proper lady with no problems at all.

She even managed to sit through a mock court session without feeling numb and out of place, not a sprig of her hair falling down, not a smudge of make-up out of place. She was regal, silent, and managed to look like a beautiful doll without any difficulties, both to her own and Oba-chan's amazement.

Lunch was a delicious series of sandwiches, and Hisana, realizing she had barely even touched her food from the night before, was quite content to sit and munch quietly, listening to the conversation going on around her.

"Did you hear what Lady Amiko wore to her vacation home, I heard it was positively scandalous."

"What about Lady Yoruichi? She has disappeared again, Captain or not, she ought to be ashamed of herself."

"What about the noise that they're creating over Urahara Kisuke? I heard he escaped… To think that he would even propose such a thing…"

"Bound to find himself dead if he continues at THIS rate…"

"I've heard that Yoruichi-sama is having an affair with Urahara…"

She glanced over at Oba-chan, aloof and over to the side of the room, her eyes watching Hisana with scrutiny, a tired look on her face. Hisana nodded and smiled at her, her fingers gently lifting her cup of tea and sipping as she barely listened to what was going on around her. A smile beamed on Oba-chan's face, and she wiggled her finger towards Hisana.

Hisana left the table with a nod to her peers and walked to Oba-chan's side, where she sat in a chair next to the window, one of her favorite birds chirping on her shoulder, looking old and worn, although pleasantly content. 

"Ahhh Hisana-chan" she said with a smile, patting a stool at her feet, "Please, join me."

"Thank you, Oba-chan." She replied, her fan closing and resting to the side.

"I see that you find court gossip tiresome…it may be the reason that my Byakushi likes you so much. He has always detested the rumors and theories that run rampant in this portion of society…I believe if he could set up a private residence in the Rukongai and avoid court altogether he would, but the dear boy respects his duties so much."

"He is a proud man." Hisana replied, smiling as well, "With much to be proud of."

"Ah yes, he does possess a pride that is hard to break, but it has changed recently. Byakushi has developed something that his Grandfather has long looked for and wished for, and yearned for in him."

"What is it?" Hisana replied, her face watching Oba-chan's intently.

"Byakuya has finally found his resolve."

"Resolve?" she asked, her hand reaching out to touch Oba-chan's tenderly.

"Yes, it is essential for any soul reaper, you see. It is why he was able to fight for his title as Lord, and it is why you are here."

"I don't understand." Hisana replied, her face troubled.

"Byakuya has developed a resolve that is letting him face all of this punishment, the wounds to his pride as a noble, because I believe that his decision to court you, to bring you into this life is one that will change him for the good. Byakuya was never intrigued with women before, until you came along. It was enough listening to Grandfather question his abilities to woo a fine young woman of noble birth at the dinner table, but when you came along, I think he saw something different, because you, in your own way, were the resolve that he was missing."

"You see, Byakuya was looking for something in his soul that he could make a stand for, something that meant enough to him to go all out and defend, something that he would live, and die for. Although Byakuya is a powerful Captain, and the unofficial ruler of all of the other noble families, he was always disenchanted with the life that he has had here in Sereitei. I think you are his foundation to make a stand against tradition, and to become a great man, and leader. You are now the reason that Byakuya swings the sword of his soul against injustice."

"And this, my dear, is where my own resolve comes to an end." Oba-chan said with a smile. "After watching my own Kageyoshi grow up into a fine man, and a fine Soul Reaper, it was difficult for me to see him so unhappy. My vow was that I would live to see the day when a son of the house of Kuchiki was truly, deeply, and incandescently happy with something, and my Byakushi, the little boy who grew into a powerful man the day of his father's death, is finally that son. That will to live is now fulfilled, you see. I think it's time to start the cycle over again."

"Excuse me?" Hisana whispered, her hand that held Oba-chan's disconcerted with the coldness of her fingers.

"Ah my dear, do not fear, I am an old soul. Life will go on, make sure you tell Byakushi that though, he is much too reliant on me in some ways I believe." She said, her smile brightening. "To the prepared mind, death my dear, is only the beginning, and it's been so long since I've been able to sleep."

"No, Oba-chan!" Hisana whispered, shaking her arm as the elderly woman laid her head back against the seat, her eyes closing.

"Tell my Byakushi…" she whispered, her breath fading, "That I am so proud of him."

With that, she was gone. Hisana's muffled cries bringing the maids, which sprang the alarm around the house, Kuchiki Hiroko, was dead.

**A/N: Ahhh… It'll get better! I promise!!**

_Can this be true_

_Can this be real_

_How can I put into words what I feel_

_My life was complete_

_I thought I was whole_

_Why do I feel like I'm losing control_

_I never thought that love could feel like this_

_Then you changed my world with just one kiss_

_How can it be that right here with me_

_There's an angel_

_It's a miracle_

_Your love is like a river,_

_Peaceful and deep_

_Your soul is like a secret that I never could keep_

_When I look into your eyes I know that it's true_

_God must have spent, a little more time on you_


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Chapter 18 of Dark! I am posting this because I'm procrastinating and putting off finishing my paper for History, but I'm almost done :-) Thank the lord.**

**Suggested listening: "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)" by Celine Dion**

**Chapter 18: Goodbye's the Saddest Word**

Hisana stood numbly at Byakuya's side, watching a parade of people pass by in a sea of black robes, veils covering the faces of the noble ladies, an exquisite lace one that had belonged to Oba-chan covering her face. Oba-chan's body lay prone on a slab of cold, black marble, kindling surrounding her body, dressed in a plain, white kimono with the seal of the Kuchiki household on her breast. Her feeble hands had been clasped together, and her hair had been laid out behind her in stream of white, pieces of it billowing in the cold, bitter wind that blew by.

Grandfather was as stoic as ever on Byakuya's left, but somehow, he looked older than he ever had before, his face devoid of emotion, as he leaned on his polished walking cane in front of them, his white beard almost trailing the ground as he closed his eyes and bowed his head.

As each person approached the table, they placed a single, white rose at the foot of Oba-chan's feet, until she lay beneath a pile of them, their petals like snow underneath a gray sky. As the last of the multitude of visitors filed past, Byakuya stepped forward, leaving Hisana and his grandfather behind as he lifted a torch from a bracket next to the table, and walked towards the pile of kindling, leaning forward and letting the fire race around the dried wood and reach forward, its flames licking at Oba-chan's body, the heat of it devouring the roses, some petals escaping to fall on the crowd like charred pieces of rain. A fiery column of orange fire arose, twisting about her remains and shooting to the sky, were a single flash of light indicated the departure of her soul to the Living World.

As the crowds filed away, Hisana stared at Byakuya's back, his Captain's robes swirling about him in the wind, and walked towards him, ignoring Grandfather's muffled protests. Standing directly behind him, she slid her arms underneath his own, and pulled his chest backwards, so that he fitted into her body as she lay her head on his back, hugging him tightly.

Byakuya froze, and then relaxed, his tense reiatsu evaporating as his shoulders began to shake. Hisana could feel drops of water hitting her hands, but said nothing, as moments later icy rain began to fall down, Byakuya's silent tears lost amidst a tumultuous sob from the heavens, drenching everything around them.

Grandfather had disappeared, leaving them standing there, alone. Hisana shivered against Byakuya, who stopped shaking, and turned towards her, the bandages of his wound still fresh white against his black robes as he offered her his arm. They walked back to the house together, a servant with an umbrella rushing to get them as they entered, other servants greeting them with warm and dry clothing.

A reception awaited the guests in the entry hall, for as custom required, the death of a body meant the rebirth of a soul, which was a cause for celebration after many years in one life in the Soul Society. It was expected that Byakuya and Hisana would attend, so the servants were dressing them in garb that was some of the fanciest Hisana had seen yet.

Byakuya came to the door as they finished drying and restyling Hisana's ebony waves of hair, his Oba-chan's comb pulling back her bangs to keep them from falling in her eyes. The servants left them as Hisana stood, every inch of her a lady in the dying gray light coming through the windows.

She walked towards him, and held out her hand, which he grasped lightly, and kissed. "Miss Hisana," he murmured, "Shall we go?"

"Yes" she replied, following beside him down the hall. "Byakuya…sama" she said, her fingers catching his own as he slowed his step minutely for her. "Oba-chan told me to tell you that, she is proud of you."

Byakuya turned, his eyes almost watery in the dim light of the hallway, but it must have been a trick of the light, Hisana thought, because as they walked into the banquet hall to find an ongoing feast in session his eyes looked normal. The guests were toasting a beautiful portrait of Oba-chan as a young woman, her bridal portrait, up against the wall.

"May we see you again, soon." The cries erupted into music and dancing, some of Oba-chan's favorite diversions as a court minstrel sang songs of the fiery Hiroko's adventures, much to the amusement of the nobility and even Grandfather, whom Hisana noted was getting drunker and drunker as the night progressed in a poor attempt to drown his sorrows.

Late in the evening, the party dwindled, and people, offering their condolences and congratulations turned to leave, their feet echoing on the hardwoods as servants escorted both Byakuya and Hisana back to their pavilion. Hisana was undressed and bathed by a cotillion of servants, her hair scented and perfumed as she was given yet another ornate and woolen nightshift, then whisked off to her bedroom, where she was tucked in by another maid, her head leaning against the pillow, shivering at the coldness that enveloped the room while they stoked the fire up.

After what seemed like an hour she sat up, unable to sleep, unable to get warm, unable to even think about the next day without Oba-chan there to help her forget the things that people said behind her back. She padded out of her bedroom, her eyes drawn to the fire crackling in Byakuya's bedchambers. She peered through the cracks in the doors and saw no one there. She pulled them open and stood by the fire, attempting to absorb the warmth it offered, her whole body shaking with inner sadness.

A sound at the door made her turn, as Byakuya a book in hand, his eyes tired, walked in, his face staring at her with a hint if desperation on it. "Miss…Hisana." He whispered, walking in, the door shutting behind him.

"Bya…kuya-sama" she murmured, turning, her arms still wrapped around her, "I was cold."

Hisana barely blinked before she felt Byakuya's arms around her, enveloping her in a gentle embrace, his voice muffled against her neck as he bleated out a pained "I…I need you" into her neck, his whole body quivering with emotion.

Hisana lifted his head, her hands trailing through his dark hair as she gazed into his eyes, her lips softly claiming his own as she turned and pulled him towards the bed, her body aching for him, aching to help the pain that his soul was enduring.

Their robes dropped to the floor rapidly, the bedcovers pulled over them tightly as Byakuya kissed every inch of Hisana's body, her hands pulling his head down to her lips, her soft cries lifting into the air in adoration of the man before her, who was claiming her and melting her like fire against ice.

She wrapped her legs around him as he entered her, his face blissful, his eyes shut tight as he rocked into her from above, her back arching up to met every, gentle, yet passionate thrust against her body, her soul winding tight as she tried to save every moment of this night, her body shaking as he cried out hoarsely into her neck, his body spilling his essence into hers as she cried out as well, in passion, in utter heaven as he loved her, her soul embracing his, enveloping his, claiming it as her own, forever.

**A/N: Happy now:) Lyrics below! (FYI: it is a sad, sad, song) **

_Mamma  
You gave life to me  
Turned a baby into a lady_

Mamma  
All you had to offer  
Was the promise of a lifetime of love

Now I know  
There is no other  
Love like a mother's love for her child

And I know  
A love so complete  
Someday must leave  
Must say goodbye

Goodbye's the saddest word I'll ever hear  
Goodbye's the last time I will hold you near  
Someday you'll say that word and I will cry  
It'll break my heart to hear you say goodbye


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Chapter 19 of "Dark"! This is a heavy revision from the original content of this chapter, but the shell of it is the same. M warning continues, black lines are inserted :-) **

**Suggested Listening: "Good Morning Beautiful" by Steve Holy**

**Chapter 19: Good Morning Beautiful **

Hisana was warm and content when she awoke the next morning, curled next to Byakuya's bare chest, his deep red covers pulled tight over their two bodies, still entwined tightly together, he, sleeping soundly against the pillow. A little drool dripped out of his mouth as she watched, and for the first time in the past two days since Oba-chan had passed away, Hisana smiled. Her hands reached out to gently brush away the bangs that fell in Byakuya's face, her fingers tickling the skin of his forehead.

His eyes blinked open, and stared straight at her, his bare, toned chest gleaming in the sunlight peeking through the window, his own hand reaching out to touch her face. "Hisana" he said, his lips pursed gently, his eyes smiling.

* * *

She grinned and leaned into his hand, his face edging close to hers as he captured her lips against his own, moving to cover her body and enclose her in his arms, the skin of her stomach brushing against his chest, his right hand sliding down her side to caress her thigh, her breath hitching in her throat as he slid his lips from her own to her neck, his tongue lapping at her pulse point.

Hisana groaned as she lifted one leg from beneath the covers to tangle comfortably around his back, urging him closer. It felt like an eternity before he sank into her, her name rasping out of his lips like a prayer.

"Hisana…"

She flushed adorably as he moved against her, her eyes shutting tightly as her fingers clutched his back, fingertips trailing gingerly over his wounded shoulder, a sigh of pleasure breathed against his skin as they created their own rhythm against the soft bedclothes, every touch of his hands, his skin, like bursts of wildfire on the backs of her eyelids.

With every heartbeat Hisana felt her body wind tight like a string on a fiddle, Byakuya playing her gently to garner the reactions he most wanted. A sigh from this touch, a groan from the friction of their bodies moving together, a hiss as he nipped at her shoulder with his teeth, her breasts against his chest, slick with sweat.

"Look at me…" Byakuya murmured, as Hisana shook her head in an almost embarrassed fashion. It was one thing to make love at midnight, another entirely to make love when the morning sun highlighted every feature, every expression.

Byakuya kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her eyelids, his lips trailing to her nose as he breathed against her face, "Open your eyes."

Hisana cracked her lids open, her brown eyes like molten chocolate, glinting as she looked to the side, away from his piercing gaze. "Hisana…" he whispered, "My name…"

"What?" Hisana panted, driven to distraction by the hand that slid down her stomach, around to her back, arching her even more into him, her legs clenching tightly as she let out a little gasp.

"My name…without any of the titles…" he murmured, his lips tickling her ear, friction increasing as her face reddened even more. Hisana felt herself at the crest of something amazing, her throat almost swelling shut as she tried to hold in a scream.

"Byakuya…" she groaned from between tense lips, eyes shutting tightly, everything erupting in a wave of color and emotion that left her sprawled, breathless against the pillows, Byakuya's lips worshiping her body, trailing down her chest, his hands, his fingers. He slid down her body, his head laying on her stomach, his dark hair spilling across her breasts as she trailed it aimlessly through her fingers.

* * *

"I won't be here today." Byakuya panted, rubbing his cheek gently against her stomach, the prickle of unshaven cheeks tickling her skin.

"I'll be here" Hisana replied, and after a pause, whispered a single word into the dust motes that danced in the sunbeams. "…waiting."

Byakuya lifted his head and leaned to nibble affectionately on her neck once more, rolling away from her to sit on the edge of the bed as she untangled herself and pulled the sheets against her body, the sudden loss of body heat making her shiver.

He turned to look at her as he stood, naked in the chill morning light, her face flushing again as she turned her head away.

And for the first time, Byakuya laughed as he reached for his robes, her eyes watching him shyly as he stepped towards the doorway.

"I'll see you later?" she whispered, from behind the hand that half covered her face.

"Of course." He replied, and disappeared around the corner, leaving her to flop back against the bed and pull the covers up to her eyes, shaking her head as she kicked her feet against the mattress in happiness.

A knock on the screen made her jump as she peeped up, one of her maids peering around the doorframe. Seeing Hisana peer from beneath the massive bed in the corner, the young girl blushed as an older maid, most likely her mother, covered her eyes and stepped into the room, shooing the girl away.

"I see you decided that your bed wasn't comfortable enough last night." Her manners were reproving, but her eyes were glinting mischievously.

Hisana shook her head wordlessly as the little girl returned with a new set of under robes, followed by the normal cotillion of servants, one heating the bathwater nearby, another tugging her into the steaming tub where she was sudsed and cleansed, her legs slightly wobbly on the cold tiles.

Giggles came from behind fans as the girls helped her select a kimono from the wooden racks rolled into the rooms, the delicate pink silk with golden trim making her skin gleam like alabaster as she was pulled inexorably back towards the vanity in her own bedroom.

She smiled into the mirror as she looked down at the table. A single blood red rose lay across her normal selection of combs, the girls pulling her ebony tresses into loops and pampering her.

A knock from nearby interrupted the banter as Hisana twirled the rose in her fingers, "Come in" she commanded, as the maids silenced their conversations instantaneously.

A guard from Squad Six bowed low to her, his voice soft, "I'm sorry madam, but Grandfather Kuchiki has requested to see you when you are finished."

Hisana nodded gracefully and hurried with her bath, a beautiful pink silk kimono selected for her meeting, her hair and make-up done to perfection as she was escorted to Grandfather's chambers. The doors were slid backwards, and she bowed low, her eyes glancing forward as the steward escorted her in.

"Ah, Miss Hisana, please sit." Grandfather said, gesturing towards the steaming breakfast table laid out in front of him.

Kneeling, Hisana sat and waited until he took a bite of the boiled egg in front of him before she reached for a piece of toast, covering it with jam as she bit in gently, grimacing as crumbs trickled down onto her lap.

A wicked smile lit up on Grandfather's face as he coughed, catching her attention. "I want to introduce you to someone."

"Of course Grandfather" Hisana murmured, her face expressionless as Oba-chan had taught her.

"This is Mitsuko Nariko" Grandfather said, beaming delightedly at the girl who entered the room with his gesture to kneel at his right hand side. "She is my Grandson's betrothed."

Hisana choked on her toast, "Excuse me?" Hisana managed to gasp out as her vision swayed slightly, eyes watering.

"As my dear Hiroko has passed away, I am now the eldest of this house, and as such, I am now bestowed with the honor of choosing the proper woman for whom my Grandson is meant, and that, my dear, is certainly not you."

Hisana took a deep breath as Nariko turned to smile at her, her blond hair braided into an elaborate coif, her robes of the finest golden silk and decorated with a smattering of white-pink cherry blossoms. Beneath them were the black robes of a Shinigami, and a Zanpakutou sat at her waist.

"It is very…nice…to meet you." Nariko laughed, her fingers covering her face with amusement as Hisana stammered in shock.

"This is ridiculous!" she yelped, her face flushed.

"Please escort this girl from my sight." Grandfather hissed, waving his fingers at two of his personal guards, their arms grabbing her underneath her shoulders and hauling her out of the room. They dropped her unceremoniously at the edge of the main gates, slamming the great metal panels shut with a dull 'thud' as Hisana felt a small portion of her heart break.

She pounded furiously on the metal surfaces, the cold wind whipping through her light, indoor kimono, her skin red as she felt something cold dripping down her face.

Tears.

She choked back a sob and hid her face. Where was Byakuya? Had he planned this all along?

"Are you alright?", a concerned voice called as a soft hand touched her back, and she turned, cheeks red, eyes watering, and make-up smeared as Ukitake's face came into her tear-blurred view.

"Hisana!" Ukitake gasped, tugging her backwards and wrapping her tightly in his captain's haori, her fingers clinging to the black wool of his winter robes.

"Whatever is the matter?" he whispered, lifting her gently as she hid her sniffling face, her choked voice stammering out what had just happened, the betrayal that now tore her heart in two.

Ukitake whirled, and in an instant Hisana found herself back at his own pavilion, wrapped in blankets as he stoked up the fire silently.

The walls of Hisana's former bedroom had not changed, and Kiyone and Kaien stared from the doorway at Ukitake's expression. He was furious.

Drawing his Zanpakutou, he left the house, his hair flying behind him, feeling for Byakuya's reiatsu.

He had told Kuchiki Byakuya what would happen if he had hurt Hisana, and Ukitake always made good on his promises.

**A/N: Cliffie? I also thought it was funny that Byakuya would have un-shaven cheeks, but he's definitely past puberty, so I'm assuming that if Shunsui can grow a beard, then so can Byakuya. LOL funny though, 5 o'clock shadow Bya-Chan.**

**Lyrics:**

_**Good morning beautiful**_

_**How was your night? **_

_**Mine was wonderful with you by my side**_

_**And when I opened my eyes**_

_**To see your sweet face, It's a good morning beautiful day**_

_**Couldn't see the light, I didn't know day from night**_

_**I had no reason to care**_

_**But since you've came along, **_

_**I can face the dawn**_

_**Cuz I know you'll be there**_

_**Good morning beautiful, how was your night? **_

_**Mine was wonderful, with you by my side**_

_**And When I opened my eyes,**_

_**To see your sweet face, It's a good morning beautiful day. **_

_**I never worry if it's raining outside**_

_**Cuz in here with you girl, the sun always shines**_

_**Good morning beautiful**_

_**How was your night? **_

_**Mine was wonderful with you by my side**_

_**And when I opened my eyes**_

_**To see your sweet face, It's a good morning beautiful day**_


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I feel like this update has taken forever, I'm revising the seventh chapter of SoW right now, so that's why it's taking so long on that front :-) So the ultimate showdown between Ukitake and Byakuya is about to commence! But is that all? **

**Read and find out!! And wah, I have ninety reviews:D **

**Suggested listening: "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts**

**Chapter 20: Broken Road**

Hisana stared grimly at the wall as she watched Kiyone bandage her knees. She knew what she had to do, and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her. She hadn't seen Ukitake since he had left her room, her nose still running and tears dripping down her cheeks. Wiping her face with her fists, Hisana slumped downwards into the pillows, her eyes shutting as she feigned sleep, Kiyone's hand patting her on the back softly as she turned and walked from the room, tray in hand.

Yanking herself out of the bed when Kiyone left, she pulled open the drawer where her Shinigami robes and practice sword lay, untouched. Sliding the robes on, she bandaged her hands and took the sword, swinging it for practice around the room, feeling its weight in her hands, all the while listening for Kiyone's steps. Hearing her approach, she hastily pushed the practice sword back into its sheath, opening the window a crack and throwing out one of the pottery pieces sitting on her vanity. The crash alarmed Kiyone, whose hurried footsteps thudded along the pathway towards the source of the noise. Seeing Kiyone out of the window, Hisana slid out of the side screen, her face red with tears, but her heart full of resolve.

She was going to show this "Nariko" just who she was messing with.

Turning towards the Kuchiki house, she walked down the streets, no one questioning a member of Ukitake's Squad. She ran down the street, dodging into the woods where she had met the hollows to come around the back of the house and avoid the front gates. Creeping nervously around the bushes until she came to the back garden, she listened intently for Grandfather, for Nariko was sure to be with him. She ducked underneath the walkway and didn't bother to take off her shoes as she scrambled in the soft earth, her hands, knees, and face filthy as she stalked their voices, their footsteps shaking dust down into her eyes as they walked right over her head.

"It is nice to finally be rid of that girl." Nariko murmured, "It's been hard to catch Byakuya's attentions with that eyesore next to him in court proceedings."

"I feel that Hiroko would have thought this was best. You are of high noble standing, and as so, you are worthy of Byakuya. Someone from the Rukongai could never compare." Grandfather smirked.

Crawling beneath them, she slunk silently like a snake under the heated pavilion, the steaming water warming their table making her sweat as she noted the position of the trap door above her with satisfaction. Placing her fingers on it, she pulled slightly, smiling when it gave easily under her slight pull. Gripping it tightly, she jerked the whole table collapsing as she fought her way out of the wreckage, yanking her sword out of its sheath to stand, almost medieval, her hair flowing wild, face streaked with filth.

Grandfather stared at her like she had grown two heads, and Nariko smirked.

"Oh, does the little kitten bite?" she purred, her hand sliding down to the hilt of her sword.

"If you think that I'm going to let someone like _you_ get your paws on Byakuya-sama…" Hisana attempted to growl, "Then you've got another thing coming!"

Nariko laughed and pulled her Zanpakutou from its sheath, "And what, are you going to do about it? You are no Shinigami! Do you think you can fight like one?"

Hisana's feet trembled, but tried not to show it as Nariko slid her hands down the keen edge of her sword. "I think not: Pursue, Ronin!" Her sword morphed into a long, bladed lasso, whirling around her head like a chain of barbed wire attacked to the handle of her sword, clinking in and out of place, turning from a sword into a chain, and back again.

Hisana gulped, and lifted her sword, trying to copy Byakuya's face, calm and stoic in the face of adversity, her blade clashing into Nariko's as sparks flew. Little did she know that Byakuya was making the exact face she was trying to emulate not two streets over, his reiatsu flaring and enveloping the street he stood in, staring at Ukitake with eyebrows raised at the infuriated Captain glaring at him, his double-edged Zanpakutou, Sougyo no Kotowari gleaming in both hands.

"I expected better of you Byakuya. Do you not have honor? How dare you shame Hisana and throw her to the side like she is nothing." he murmured, a deadly edge to his voice. "I will not hold anything back Byakuya. I have told you what is at stake."

He charged forward, his swords meeting with Senbonzakura's edge, pulled up at the last minute to collide with his zanpakutou, clanging powerfully, the two Captain's reiatsus flaring and forming a hole in the pavement as the stones collapsed away from them.

"I do not understand." Byakuya said, straining against the force of Ukitake's blows, his sword slashing viciously in a pattern that almost hypnotized.

"Do not act like you do not know of what I speak of! If you cannot care for Hisana as is fit, I will take her from you!" Ukitake snarled.

"No one" Byakuya said calmly, "Is taking Hisana away from ME! CHIRE!" Senbonzakura exploded into a thousand blades, whirling and slicing at Ukitake as he dodged them repeatedly, his chest heaving, leaving huge scars in the ground.

Senbonzakura swirled around Ukitake and grasped him tightly in its deadly embrace, and Byakuya walked into the storm of petals, his robes billowing, eyebrows furrowed. "Captain Ukitake, I wish to know what nonsense you speak of." he stated, Ukitake still staring at him determinedly, a streak of blood trickling down his cheek to stain his robes.

"Hisana asked me to take her away from you. Do not feign that you have no knowledge of what your family has done to her." Ukitake replied.

"Ukitake-san" Byakuya said, respectfully, "My decision is final. Hisana is not leaving me."

"Then why did she beg to be taken away? Do you have an explanation, Byakuya?" Ukitake growled.

Byakuya sheathed Senbonzakura, his face puzzled. "I know nothing of this ridiculous matter that you speak of." Ukitake broke free, his shun-po carrying him to slide beyond Senbonzakura's edge, fingers touching the ground.

The two men faced off again, Ukitake with his Zanpakutou still drawn as Byakuya watched him guardedly. Footsteps slapping against the pavement made them both pause as a breathless maid came running from the house, her robes torn from falling on the pavement. "Kuchiki-sama, Ukitake-sama…Hisana…Lady Hisana is being killed!" she panted, breathlessly.

"What?" Byakuya asked, his face like a stone.

"She is fighting Nariko-dono…for you!" she gasped.

"Nariko?" Byakuya asked, confusion evident on his handsome face.

"Yes, this morning, after you…left for the practice grounds My Lord, your Grandfather called Hisana to meet him, I thought for breakfast, instead, he introduced her to your new fiancé!"

"You lie." Byakuya snarled, hand on his Zanpakutou.

"I swear I do not! She left, in tears, I hadn't seen her all day, but she came back, wearing Shinigami robes with a practice Zanpakutou and challenged Nariko to a fight, for you!"

Byakuya and Ukitake looked at one another, and disappeared.

Hisana grunted as Nariko's chain wrapped around her sword. Her face had cuts and jagged tears in her robes where blood dripped from the bite of Ronin. She had tried not to scream every time it hit, but her whimpers were encountered with laughter.

Angrily, she broke free, dodging Ronin and slicing her sword towards Nariko, its blade hitting home on her sword arm, causing her to scream. Hisana dodged, but tripped, skidding to the floor as an angry Nariko turned and swung her Zanpakutou with her left hand, it screamed through the air as Hisana covered her face and neck with her arms, but the blow never hit.

Looking up, she saw that she was in Byakuya's shadow, the blade sunk deep in his back.

"Byakuya!" she yelped, as Nariko tried to run, only to be caught by Ukitake, his double-bladed Zanpakutou touching her throat, his arm wrapped around her body. "Don't even think about it Shinigami." His voice hissed, coldly.

Byakuya pulled the blade out of his back, a jagged piece of fabric and flesh open to the cold as he winced. "Hisana" he murmured, and she reached for him as he collapsed on to one knee, his forehead on her un-injured shoulder. Ukitake glared at Byakuya's Grandfather, raising one blade to point at him.

"You, I believe, are at the heart of this" he said silently, "I would not move if I were you."

Grandfather froze as a thousand bladed Senbonzakura surrounded him, floating on every side.

"How…dare you." Byakuya murmured, his breath coming in small gasps.

Grandfather pulled back, "I just want what's best for this family!"

"What is best for this family is up to me now!" Byakuya said, lips pursed. "And what is best for this family, is Hisana."

Hisana stared, tears trickling down her face, as Byakuya turned to lift her, his back torn.

"I will not tolerate another attempt on her life. And as for you…" he said, turning to Nariko, "Get out of my sight."

**A/N: Byakuya is so intense, I love that last line :-). I'm in class...my professor just stepped on a cricket! Eeewww. I'm sad now, poor bug, he didn't do anything wrong. **

_Lyrics:  
Every long lost dream lead me to where you are  
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
This much I know is true  
That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: So after this chapter…there are only two more!! Please enjoy!! And 100 reviews?!!! You guys are soooo awesome! Black lines are inserted as usual. **

**Suggested listening: "If Walls could Talk" by Celine Dion**

**Chapter 21: Can you keep a secret? **

Byakuya, even with the massive wound on his back, carefully lifted Hisana from the ground and carried her back to his chambers, nodding at Ukitake, who took Nariko away to cool her heels in a holding cell, her protests falling on muffled ears, a deflated and defeated looking grandfather escorted to his chambers by Squad Six soul reapers, his zanpakutou removed from his possession until Byakuya saw fit.

Once they had arrived in his room, a vicious look sent the manservant running, leaving Hisana and Byakuya alone, his hand reaching out to touch the gouge on her face. She winced, and did so again when he touched her shoulder.

"Take off your robes." He commanded, and she stood, her torn garb falling loosely as she undid the tie at the waist, her chest, bare except for a breast band exposing multiple cuts on her ribs, where the skin was bleeding profusely. She removed her legs next, a loin cloth covering her as Byakuya removed his own shirt, revealing his healing arm and the tear on his back, which he nonchalantly wrapped with a set of bandages from a first aid kid in his drawer, reaching for some green ointment in a bottle with the seal of Squad Four on it.

He sat on the edge of the bed, and tugged her in between his legs so that she rested warm and alive against his chest, her reiatsu flaring soothingly against him with every beat of her heart. His fingers trailed down her arms to her stomach, gently rubbing the salve onto her wounds with the palms of his hands. She was amazed to see how the smaller cuts closed almost immediately, and shuddered as he kissed her neck with his lips, his teeth grazing down her skin as light from the sunset shown through his window, patterned colors covering the two of them in their shadows.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, "I cause you nothing but trouble."

"On the contrair my dear" he murmured, lips sucking gently on her collarbone, "My life is much more interesting with you in it, I assure you."

"No…I should have asked you before running off. I was just scared…" she whispered.

"Scared of what?" Byakuya replied. "Why were you fighting for me?" he whispered, his tongue sliding against the skin on her neck as she gasped.

"Because…you…I…" she murmured, barely coherent as he pulled her closer to his waist.

"Continue" he replied, his hands rubbing her back all over with the salve, her aches and pains evaporating as she spoke, his little kisses sliding up the side of her cheek to rest like the touch of a butterfly next to her eyes, which fluttered shut with a little sigh of contentment.

"Because…I…" her voice stammered, and she turned, her eyes catching his as he seemed to hold his breath.

She leaned backwards and claimed his lips suddenly, turning she pushed him beneath her, his eyes opening wide at her boldness. She made him lie flat on his stomach, sliding his bandages back, her hands running down the edge of the cut, which was not as deep as she had first thought.

Sighing gently, she reached for the same salve and rubbed it into his wound, feeling him relax at the touch of her hands as his skin knit back together. Her fingers rubbed tense muscles, the pads of her fingertips trailing lower with each caress, a slight groan coming from Byakuya's lips when she kneaded too close to the wound.

"Why is it barely a scratch?" she whispered, her fingers trailing over it.

Byakuya smirked into the bed, and turned his head to face her. "Because it takes a reiatsu strong enough and determined enough to cut someone of Captain-class, Nariko is barely out of the academy, and scarcely more experienced than the casual substitute Shinigamis that you will find in the Living World."

"Well excuseeee meeee." Hisana replied, as Byakuya flipped himself and sat up, the sheets half on him as Hisana still sat in between his legs, now atop of the coverlet.

"Why?" he asked again, his hand reaching out to grasp her chin.

"Why? Do you think I could just give you up because someone told me to? I've had enough of having everything I've ever loved taken away from me." She declared, passionately, her hands clenched in her lap.

"Love?" Byakuya replied, his hand lifting her eyes to look into his own.

* * *

Hisana froze, her mind like a river under a thaw, hardly feeling Byakuya's arms on her body, wounds and salves forgotten, as he slid her underneath him into the soft down mattress, his kisses bolder, on fire, her entire body reeling as suddenly, it was skin against skin, his body like fire, melting the thaw, melting the ice. And she wrapped herself around him, wrapped her legs around his waist, wrapped her arms around his back and into his hair, her ears absorbing every soft cry that he let slip from stoic lips – lips that drove her to distraction with every touch.

His fingers were trailing up her thighs, tugging himself into her, her head hitting the pillows, ebony hair spewing behind her like a waterfall, tresses he wound his fingers through as with every impassioned thrust her body danced with his own, this perfect union, this perfect…perfect…

And he had paused, paused just _then_ and she was watching Byakuya's face as he said something, to her, her heart pounding so hard that her ears strained to make out the three words that he whispered, her heart swelling as if it would burst.

"What?" she whispered, hardly able to mutter the syllables as he resumed his actions, her voice breathless as she arched her back towards him, that perfection reached, her mouth unable to produce any coherent sounds, her fingers sliding down the side of his face as his good arm, as he moved away from her to slide behind her. Tugging her into his arms, head resting on one hand, elbow propped into the pillows as she rolled to face him, face flushed, his wounded arm creating a sort of pocket around her to prevent her from moving.

* * *

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Byakuya replied, his face expressionless but his eyes laughing.

"No." Hisana replied, for she knew, deep in her heart, what Byakuya was saying to her, even without words.

**A/N: Uwah! Fluff :-) I hope that satisfied! As previously stated there are only two more chapters, and the final chapter is from Byakuya's point of view, since we have very, if rarely seen anything through his eyes – my third person tends to follow Hisana almost exclusively in this story, not so in SoW, in which my third person extends itself to follow quite a few people at one time:-P **

**Lyrics (this song is, of course from Hisana's PoV):**

These walls keep a secret  
That only we know  
But how long can they keep it?  
'Cause we're two lovers, we lose control

We're two shadows  
Chasing rainbows  
Behind closed windows  
Behind closed doors

If walls could talk  
Oooh... they would say I want you more  
They would say  
Hey...ever felt like this before?  
That you'll always be the one for me


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: The end is drawing nigh:-) Just to let you know, this chapter is long awaited and expected! Nothing too crazy going on, last chapter will come out soon! **

**Suggested listening: "You" Rascal Flatts**

**Chapter 22: I Can't Live Without You**

Hisana gulped nervously as she stood in the waiting chamber, her eyes hidden behind a thick white veil covering her face. She never thought that she would make it here, make it to this point, to make it to the cusp of something unimaginable, like a fairy tail.

It had been two months to the day that she had fought Nariko for Byakuya, and now she waited in her place, waited to become Byakuya's equal in name, for she already was in body.

The smell of spring cherry blossoms floated through the perforated doors, their screens hiding her from appearing until the time was right, her head swirling with so many thoughts and emotions that she thought she could scream. Every person of importance in Soul Society sat in that chamber before her, from Yamamoto Genryuusai, the Captain of the first division, to the rarely seen Captain Komamura beneath his giant bucket of a hat.

She knew what awaited her beyond those doors, and her heart ached as a bell rang, signifying it was time for her to enter. The doors swung open and she tried to remember to tell herself to breathe as she floated, serene over the strewn petals across Byakuya's personal garden, her tiny, slipper covered feet barely making a sound as the audience rose at her entrance, Grandfather escorting her down the aisle.

At the beautiful white pagoda at the end of the petal strewn path was Byakuya, his robes entirely white, his Captain's robes and scarf signifying his position as head of his household flying in the wind behind him, his face like a stone as usual, only his eyes reverberating the happiness he felt inside at the sight of her, her white kimono trailing the ground with yards and yards of fabric behind her.

A venerable old Judge from the Chamber of 46 stood at the head behind Byakuya, his own black robes a stark contrast to the white around them. Byakuya took Hisana's hands in his own, and escorted her up the steps, kneeling before the judge as Hisana took her place after him, her head bowed, her eyes watching him from beneath her elaborate Phoenix shaped head dress bedazzled with pearls and shining pieces of metal she had added to mimic the shards of Senbonzakura.

The ceremony seemed to drag by, Hisana thought, as a drop of her blood was mixed with Byakuya's own, their wrists entwined together, a rope of spirit energy melding and lifting their bodies slightly off the ground with a majestic amount of power, and she felt, as she was sure Byakuya did, her heart skip a beat, and stop, then begin to beat again in time with his own.

It was something unbelievably strong, and it shook the very ground that the ceremony took place on, even causing the face of the judge to waver slightly as he held the string of reiatsu in his hands until the binding was complete.

"Never again shall your souls wander, for only one can complete you." He murmured, the entire crowd watching breathlessly as the reiatsu flared white and the ground shook again, then settled, leaving Hisana breathless.

"I now declare that Kuchiki Byakuya and Kuchiki Hisana…are lawfully wed according to the laws set down by the First Judge of Soul Society."

Squad members peeking over the edges of the houses to see the ceremony let out whoops of joy, Hisana giggling slightly as even Ukitake, with so many people watching, stood up clapping.

Hisana beamed as Byakuya took her hand and tugged her towards him, his hands on her waist as he lifted her into the air and kissed her, her eyes wide open with surprise as the entire crowd silenced with gasps of shock, then erupted into a roar of approval.

"Our future lies in the here and now." Byakuya whispered to her as he set her down, her arm wrapped in his own, "Come with me for eternity."

"I will." Hisana replied, her fingers intertwining with his own, a symbol of a bond that would be unbroken, even by death.

**A/N: Fluffy :) PS!! Don't forget there's one more chapter!!! (I know this sounds like the end, so maybe think of chapter 23 as the epilogue!)**

**R/R :D**

**Lyrics: **

_**Every road that I've been down**_

_**The only truth that I have found**_

_**There's only one thing I can't live without – **_

_**You**_


	23. Epilogue

**A/N: Alright – so it's the end. You can never have too much of a good thing, but I'm afraid it's time for Dark to come to an ending. Please tell me what you think! **

**Suggested Listening: "I'll Follow You into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie (it's full circle, first chapter and second chapter) **

**Chapter 23: I'll Follow You into the Dark **

_Love of mine, _

_Someday you will die_

_But I'll follow close behind_

_I'll follow you into the dark_

_No blinding light, no tunnels or gates of white_

_Just our hands clasped so tight _

_Waiting for the hint of a spark_

Hisana walked beside Byakuya, a giggle on her lips as she held her rounding belly in front of her, the next heir of the Kuchiki household inside. Her heart pounded happily in her chest as Byakuya turned to blindfold her, his large body fitting into her small one as he pushed her and directed her down the hallway, before tugging the band of fabric from her face and letting her open her eyes.

"Oh…" Hisana whispered, a single tear running down her face as Byakuya looked at her for approval.

Her old room had been transformed into something out of a storybook. Beautiful dragons soared across the ceiling and one side was full of toys, plush furniture and books, all of it in shades of soft pastels. Hisana said nothing, just walked towards him and laid her head on his chest, her fingers curling in his robes as she pushed her tiny body towards his own, her happiness almost tangible, like an aura that surrounded them both. Its warmth held them closer, and Byakuya tried not to blush when he felt soft tears of happiness soaking through the fabric of his robes.

_If heaven and hell decided that they both are satisfied_

_Illuminate the no's on their vacany signs_

_If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks_

_I'll follow you into the dark_

Byakuya had known the moment when Unohana came into the room that the news wasn't good. Hisana had fallen earlier that day, with intense labor pains – but they were far too early.

Even the research department had no ideas on how to preserve the unborn soul…Byakuya could already tell from the sound of Hisana sobbing in the next room that she was heartbroken.

He had walked in and just reached for her, curled up and hysterical, and had pulled her into his arms and held her, trying to make her stop. It killed him to see her cry, and every soft sob pulled on his soul until he would have done anything to make it stop, anything.

It had taken a sedative to eventually calm her down, and that was when Unohana had come to him again, her normally calm face pensive.

"Kuchiki-sama…" she whispered, placing a hand on his own. "I need to speak to you about something."

"What is it?" Byakuya had asked, a feeling in the pit of his stomach making him almost nauseous.

"Lady Hisana…will never be able to carry another child."

_In Catholic School as vicious as Roman Rule_

_I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black_

_I held my tongue, as she told me "Son fear is the heart of love."_

_So I never went back_

Byakuya had followed Hisana into the Rukongai, a silent guardian to his already weak spouse. She had withdrawn from him since the death of their unborn child.

The news of her inability to have another baby was a cruel blow. She considered it a curse for having abandoned the sister of barely two years to the harsh life awaiting her in the Rukongai.

This was the sixth time in two weeks Hisana had left the house, her cough was worse, and she had a fever. But she had to find her sister. She had to.

If she did, then somehow, he knew, that she thought, that everything would be alright.

After giving the sister she had never known the chance she deserved, the gods would give her another child. She would be able to give Byakuya what she knew he desperately wanted inside.

But Byakuya only cared about one thing. Even he pained for the lost baby, but his heart hurt even more for Hisana. She was stretching herself too thin.

He didn't want to lose her. Ever.

_If heaven and hell decide _

_That they both are satisfied_

_Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs_

_If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks_

_I'll follow you into the dark_

Byakuya stared from around the corner, his eyes watching Hisana as she soaked in the steaming hot bath, her body frail, her cough worse.

He entered the room, his body quivering in anger at seeing her in such a state. Nothing the doctors did would keep her healthy for long. For two weeks she had been her shining self, and then, she had relapsed again, the cough returning, her aches and pains.

She turned to look at him, the bubbles covering her body, and whispered one thing.

"Byakuya…I'm cold."

Byakuya's eyes shot open, his eyes glaring at the steaming water as he dipped his hand into it, almost scalding his skin. "What?" he whispered, his eyes watching her, voice wavering slightly.

"I can't feel it." she murmured, a hint of terror in her voice.

Byakuya's face was expressionless as he tried to control the small amount of panic that entered his body, and turned to leave, intent on finding someone who could set Hisana to rights.

"Wait!" she called, as he turned to leave. "Don't go. I'm afraid."

Byakuya turned, to stare at her, her body so frail in the water her eyes almost overflowing with unshed tears, and turned back to the tub, where she grabbed him around the shoulders and pulled him in on top of her, pulling his robes off as he kissed her, his body warm against hers that was so very cold.

Her hands ran down his back as she slid his pants off, her legs sliding up to wrap around is waist as Byakuya kissed her neck, hiding his eyes from her and trying to keep his breathing slow as he let out a ragged sob into the water, her legs wrapped around his waist as he claimed her again, feeling her soul melding with his as his tears flowed unchecked from his eyes, her body writhing against his as he tried to keep her with him, even if it was for just a little while longer.

_You and me have seen every thing to see_

_From Bangkok to Calgary on the souls of your shoes_

_We're all worn down, the time for sleep is now_

_It's nothing to cry about, because we'll hold each other soon_

_In the blackest of rooms_

Byakuya ran his hands through her hair as she slept next to him, her breathing easy after another one of her hard nights, when her attacks and coughs were enough to make the entire staff wonder about her condition, which was kept guarded by a secret handful of people.

Even Grandfather had been barred from seeing her, they tended to argue quite a bit and Hisana could hardly feed herself, let alone fight with the venerable soul reaper, but she would try nonetheless, giving him a tiny bit of enjoyment in his day.

He could hardly function on his duties. His squad had noticed his absence – even the Captain Commander knew that he was neglecting his post. But none questioned him, not one.

Her soft voice made him pause, made his heart clench painfully.

"Byakuya…does it hurt to die?"

"Don't say things like that…" he almost whimpered, his eyes shutting painfully tight.

He couldn't let her die. He wouldn't.

_If heaven and hell decide that they both are satisfied_

_Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs_

_If there's no one beside you when your soul embarks_

_Then I'll follow you into the dark_

Byakuya stared blankly as he lit another funeral pyre, the flames erupting to heaven again, the light shattering the sky as the blackened marble table claimed yet another of his family to death, his mind devoid of emotion, his heart silent. For the first time in five years…he was lost.

She had left him, almost as suddenly as she had come into his life. Her soul taken back to a place he could not follow. He was alone.

He had held her in his arms when she died, held her as she murmured her last words of encouragement, the last words he would ever hear pass through her lips, blurred due to the fact that he was trying to hold in his scream of agony as her heart tore from his own and stopped beating.

He had wished then, that everything could have ended. That he could have followed her into the dark, away from this world, to stay with her for all eternity.

But he was cursed. Cursed with power, cursed with the fact that he was a Kuchiki, an emotionless, powerful entity that stood, a statue of status, rotting in a house of riches, rotting in a den of antiquated ideals and structure, all of it, broken around him and in ruins.

There was nothing left for him. Nothing left to live for, nothing left for him to hold at night next to his chest, nothing soft in his hard and lonely court to hold. It was gone.

Forever.

He let out a howl from the very core of his soul, startling the guests around him as he dropped to his knees, his cry falling hoarse and deaf on Hisana's ears, long gone to somewhere that was completely out of earshot.

But he had promised her, he thought, when he became aware of the fact that he had no tears left to cry. Every day he sought nothing else. He would defeat the demon that had devoured his wife and unborn son.

He would find her, he would find this 'Rukia', be she ghost or living soul, and give her what Hisana had wanted her to have. What she had died trying to give her.

_Then I'll follow you into the dark_

He saw her, standing at a window in the academy, her dark hair the same length Hisana's had been when she had first found out that she was expecting. Her eyes were the same, her body was small and petite, although a little taller than the Hisana he remembered so well.

It took all he had not to run up and grab her.

He had passed by her, his white robes flowing, and had gone to the Captain Commander immediately. They were shocked when he asked for permission to remove the girl from the academy and take her into his family.

Shocked.

He had gone to her, entourage in tow, and asked her to formally become of his blood, to become a Kuchiki. The impulse was so strong to reach down and take her in his arms like Hisana, to lift her up to a place where she could see no harm. And yet another part of him ached because of the fact that this girl was alive and healthy, and his Hisana was dead.

And much to his happiness, and at the same time, heartache – she had accepted.

He would never be as happy as he had been with Hisana there. But he still had her picture, and the next best thing running down his hallways – and, in case of his death, someone to carry on his family's name.

_I'll Follow You into the Dark_

Kuchiki Byakuya was older, and wiser, but had not dwindled in strength or handsome looks, although the lines around his eyes were deeper, and his inner soul was more at peace with the rules and regulations of soul society.

Today, he had woken up, sixty years to the day that she had left him, to feel his heart beating normally again.

He had left his pavilion, his robes hanging about him limply, scars from battles long past on his body, Senbonzakura at his waist. Rukia was gone again, gone to that boy in the Living World, gone off on more adventures battling Arrancar and other things unworthy of Byakuya's attentions.

This however, was.

A messenger had come for him, saying that there was a guest waiting for him in the foyer. Placing his ornaments in his hair, and having his robes draped about him, Byakuya had turned and walked from his rooms, to where the messenger had indicated his guest awaited.

Opening the doors, he sat down, his head glancing at the bowed head of a woman in front of him, her face hidden by the hood of her robes.

"Who or what is it that so desperately requires an audience with me?" Byakuya asked, his face drawn taught as his heart jumped painfully in his chest.

"Are you Kuchiki Byakuya?" she asked.

"Yes" he replied. "Now answer my question."

She said nothing, only holding out her hand, in which a silver ring with a blood red stone in its setting glittered, charred slightly, as if it had been in a fire.

"Where did you get that?" Byakuya asked, his eyes narrowed and serious.

"I have had it since I was born. It was in my mouth, the nurses pulled it out of me, and gave it to my mother."

Byakuya sat, silenced. "I am twenty-five years old" she replied, "And my entire life, I have felt that I was not long for the world. Even my grandmother said that I seemed to have some other purpose."

"Continue." Byakuya replied.

"I have never not known your name, Kuchiki Byakuya" she murmured, pulling her hood back. "And I left the world I lived in knowing that I was coming to find you, knowing that I never, ever, stopped loving you."

Byakuya stood up suddenly, staring intently at the girl before him. She held her hand out to him, and he took the ring from her and slid it on her fourth finger, where it fit as perfectly as if it had been made for her.

"Never," he said, his hands lifting to her face, his eyes staring into those same dark eyes, that same black hair trailing down her back, "Leave me again…"

"Hisana."

And that voice, that voice he had thought he would never hear again whispered back a quiet, "I won't."

_I'll Follow you into the Dark _

**A/N: The End!**

**Thank you all for staying so long and reading this story! I hope the last chapter was everything you wanted and hoped for! I'm getting ready to head home for Fall Break, so this is my celebratory gift to you! Actually, I just wanted to get it up before my book review, historiography paper, and research endeavors bite me in the grits. (Can you tell I'm from the south? LOL) PS -- the bathtub love scene thingy was inspired by the movie "The Fountain" go watch it!! **

**I get to see my horse this weekend!!! R/R – it'll make me super happy to know what you think!! **


End file.
